Muhlenkamp & Co. Inc. Acquires 33,247 Shares of Celanese Corporation $CE

Muhlenkamp & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 184,455 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,247 shares during the period. Celanese makes up 2.1% of Muhlenkamp & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Muhlenkamp & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Celanese were worth $7,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CE. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Celanese by 111.1% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 513 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Celanese by 55.4% during the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Celanese by 140.4% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 827 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Celanese in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Celanese by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 662 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Celanese

In other Celanese news, CFO Chuck Kyrish bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $41.03 per share, with a total value of $205,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 10,914 shares in the company, valued at $447,801.42. This trade represents a 84.55% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of CE stock opened at $54.89 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.12. Celanese Corporation has a 52 week low of $35.13 and a 52 week high of $63.55. The stock has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.18 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 8.43% and a negative net margin of 12.15%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. Celanese has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.700-0.850 EPS. Analysts predict that Celanese Corporation will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 24th. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is -0.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Celanese from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Celanese from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Celanese in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Celanese from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.78.

About Celanese

Celanese Corporation is a global chemical and specialty materials company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of products serving diverse industries. The company operates through two primary business segments—Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain—offering solutions that range from high-performance polymers and specialty additives to industrial chemicals and intermediates. Its engineered materials are used in applications such as automotive components, consumer electronics, medical devices and packaging, while its acetyl derivatives find uses in coatings, adhesives, solvents and personal care products.

In the Engineered Materials segment, Celanese produces a variety of high-performance thermoplastics, polyether-block-amide (PEBA) elastomers and functional additives designed to enhance product durability, thermal resistance and sustainability.