Citigroup Cuts Celanese (NYSE:CE) Price Target to $58.00

Celanese (NYSE:CE) had its price target lowered by Citigroup from $60.00 to $58.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on CE. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Celanese from $72.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Celanese in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $50.00 price target on Celanese in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Mizuho set a $50.00 price objective on Celanese in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Celanese from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Celanese presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.60.

Celanese Price Performance

Shares of Celanese stock opened at $44.27 on Wednesday. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.13. Celanese has a twelve month low of $35.13 and a twelve month high of $70.70. The firm has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.76.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. Celanese had a negative net margin of 12.04% and a positive return on equity of 13.04%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. Celanese has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.350-1.750 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Celanese will post 6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Celanese news, SVP Mark Murray purchased 2,153 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $45.52 per share, with a total value of $98,004.56. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president directly owned 30,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,385,264.64. This trade represents a 7.61% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Celanese

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Celanese in the second quarter valued at $614,675,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Celanese by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,565,556 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $235,312,000 after buying an additional 1,076,645 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Celanese by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,547,744 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $167,565,000 after acquiring an additional 391,204 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Celanese by 83.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,187,235 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $143,849,000 after acquiring an additional 993,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Celanese by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,909,529 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $80,760,000 after acquiring an additional 287,264 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

About Celanese

Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE) is a global chemical and specialty materials company that develops and manufactures products used in a wide range of industries, including automotive, consumer goods, medical, electronics, food, paints and coatings, and industrial manufacturing. The company serves customers through operations and commercial activities across North America, Europe, Asia and other international markets.

Celanese operates primarily through its Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain businesses.