Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Celanese (NYSE:CE)

Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors acquired 5,156 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 205% compared to the typical volume of 1,692 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on CE. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Celanese from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Tudor Pickering raised Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Celanese from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research lowered Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Celanese in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Celanese presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.47.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Celanese

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake in Celanese by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,399 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Celanese by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,244 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Celanese by 111.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 513 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Celanese by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 22,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Celanese by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 25,015 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Celanese Stock Up 7.9%

Shares of NYSE:CE opened at $68.11 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $57.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. Celanese has a 12-month low of $35.13 and a 12-month high of $68.64. The firm has a market cap of $7.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.43, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.85.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 8.75% and a negative net margin of 12.15%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share. Celanese has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.700-0.850 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Celanese will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Celanese’s payout ratio is -1.13%.

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.