Celanese (NYSE:CE) Shares Down 7.6% – Here’s Why

Shares of Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) dropped 7.6% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $63.17 and last traded at $63.16. Approximately 200,452 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 2,521,099 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $66.00 target price on shares of Celanese and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Evercore set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Celanese in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Celanese from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Celanese from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Celanese from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.65.

Celanese Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company’s 50 day moving average is $58.31 and its 200 day moving average is $48.00. The stock has a market cap of $6.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.85, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.85.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported $0.67 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 company had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Celanese has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.700-0.850 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Celanese Corporation will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 27th. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Celanese

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CE. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Celanese by 1,539.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,003,127 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings 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 valued at $235,312,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076,645 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Celanese by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,115,365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $215,255,000 after acquiring an additional 887,600 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Celanese by 103.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,645,689 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $91,056,000 after acquiring an additional 837,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in Celanese by 872.6% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 693,796 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,195,000 after acquiring an additional 622,460 shares in the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.