Celanese (NYSE:CE) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Robert W. Baird raised their price target on the stock from $65.00 to $75.00. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Celanese traded as high as $63.71 and last traded at $63.51, with a volume of 63766 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.54.

CE has been the topic of several other research reports. Tudor Pickering upgraded Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Vertical Research upgraded Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th. Evercore set a $63.00 target price on Celanese in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Celanese from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Celanese from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Celanese currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.22.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its holdings in Celanese by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,399 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Celanese by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,244 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Celanese by 111.1% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 513 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Celanese by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 22,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $961,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Celanese by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 25,015 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,058,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Celanese Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $53.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.07.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last announced its quarterly 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). Celanese had a negative net margin of 12.15% and a positive return on equity of 8.75%. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Celanese has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.700-0.850 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Celanese Corporation will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 24th. Celanese’s payout ratio is currently -1.13%.

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.