VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Purchases New Holdings in Celanese Corporation $CE

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

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Celanese in the second quarter worth $614,675,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Celanese by 4,519.5% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,837,354 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $268,518,000 after buying an additional 5,710,991 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Celanese by 1,539.8% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,133,216 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $90,192,000 after buying an additional 2,003,127 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Celanese during the 2nd quarter worth about $62,580,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Celanese by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,565,556 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $235,312,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076,645 shares during the period. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mark Murray acquired 2,153 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $45.52 per share, for a total transaction of $98,004.56. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president owned 30,432 shares in the company, valued at $1,385,264.64. This trade represents a 7.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CE shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Celanese from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Bank of America cut their price target on Celanese from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $50.00 price objective on Celanese in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Celanese from $57.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Celanese in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.27.

Celanese Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:CE opened at $46.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33. Celanese Corporation has a 12-month low of $35.13 and a 12-month high of $70.70. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.76. The firm has a market capitalization 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 (NYSE:CE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.22. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 13.04% and a negative net margin of 12.04%.The business had revenue of $2.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Celanese has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.350-1.750 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Celanese Corporation will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th were given a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1.12%.

Trending Headlines about Celanese

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

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.