VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Buys Shares of 40,543 Celanese Corporation $CE

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 40,543 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,865,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Celanese by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,565,556 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $235,312,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076,645 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Celanese by 208.3% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 105,435 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,460,000 after acquiring an additional 71,238 shares in the last quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Celanese in the 2nd quarter worth $2,916,000. Robinhood Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Celanese in the 2nd quarter worth $6,581,000. Finally, Old West Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Celanese during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,634,000. Institutional investors own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Key Celanese News

Here are the key news stories impacting Celanese this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp upgraded Celanese to “Strong Buy,” reinforcing its bullish view on the chemicals company. KeyCorp maintains a $57 price target, implying meaningful upside from current levels. Celanese upgraded by KeyCorp
• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp’s earnings outlook points to a recovery. The firm estimates $1.56 in third-quarter 2026 EPS, $1.19 in the fourth quarter, $6.10 for fiscal 2027 and $6.70 for fiscal 2028. The longer-term estimates exceed the current full-year consensus of $5.99, supporting the case that earnings could improve over time.
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option activity signals increased speculative interest in Celanese. Traders purchased 10,136 calls, roughly 410% above typical volume, suggesting some market participants are positioning for a rebound, though options activity is not a fundamental indicator.
• Neutral Sentiment: Celanese is selling another 19% of Nutrinova for $152 million, reducing its ownership stake to 11%. The proceeds could help the highly leveraged company pay down debt, but the transaction also reduces exposure to a business that could provide future growth. Celanese selling another 19% of Nutrinova
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted weakness following second-quarter 2026 results and the Nutrinova stake sale. Investors may remain cautious until Celanese demonstrates sustained earnings improvement and debt reduction. Celanese stock edges lower after earnings and Nutrinova sale

Insider Buying and Selling at Celanese

In other news, SVP Mark Murray bought 2,153 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $45.52 per share, with a total value of $98,004.56. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president owned 30,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,385,264.64. This represents a 7.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on CE shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Celanese in a research note on Friday, August 21st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Celanese from $57.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Celanese from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Celanese from $72.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Celanese from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Celanese has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.27.

Celanese Price Performance

NYSE:CE opened at $46.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.45. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.76. The company has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 0.76. Celanese Corporation has a 52-week low of $35.13 and a 52-week high of $70.70.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 13.04% and a negative net margin of 12.04%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. Celanese has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.350-1.750 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Celanese Corporation will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1.12%.

Celanese Company Profile

Celanese Corporation is a global chemical and specialty materials company headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company develops and manufactures engineered polymers, specialty chemicals and other materials used in a broad range of industries, including automotive, medical, electronics, consumer products, industrial equipment, coatings and packaging.

Celanese operates through two primary businesses: Engineered Materials and the Acetyl Chain. Its engineered materials portfolio includes high-performance thermoplastics, engineered polymers and other specialty compounds used to replace metal and conventional materials in demanding applications.