Celanese (NYSE:CE) Cut to “Equal Weight” at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Celanese (NYSE:CE) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $45.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock.

CE has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Celanese from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Celanese in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $43.00 price target on Celanese in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Celanese from $47.00 to $43.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Celanese from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Celanese Stock Performance

Shares of CE stock opened at $42.26 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $40.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.85. Celanese has a one year low of $35.13 and a one year high of $75.84. The stock has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.49 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.07. Celanese had a negative net margin of 31.85% and a positive return on equity of 9.87%. The company had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. Celanese’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Celanese has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.850-1.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Celanese will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, October 28th. Celanese’s payout ratio is presently -0.42%.

Insider Activity at Celanese

In other Celanese news, CFO Chuck Kyrish purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $41.03 per share, with a total value of $205,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,914 shares in the company, valued at $447,801.42. The trade was a 84.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CE. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Celanese by 111.1% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 513 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in Celanese by 55.4% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased 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. LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in Celanese by 99.0% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 758 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in Celanese in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Company Profile

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.