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

Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders acquired 5,591 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 162% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,138 call options.

Celanese Price Performance

Shares of CE stock traded down $0.84 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $44.85. 475,457 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,230,725. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Celanese has a 52-week low of $35.13 and a 52-week high of $70.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $51.19 and a 200 day moving average of $53.88. The company has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a PE ratio of -4.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.76.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. Celanese had a negative net margin of 11.54% and a positive return on equity of 9.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. Celanese has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.000-2.400 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Celanese will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Celanese from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Celanese from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Celanese from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Celanese from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Celanese from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Celanese presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.44.

Institutional Trading of Celanese

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 259,196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,907,000 after acquiring an additional 29,392 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Celanese by 24.0% in the fourth 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. QSM Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Celanese by 102.2% in the fourth quarter. QSM Asset Management Ltd now owns 84,698 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,581,000 after purchasing an additional 42,800 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Celanese by 113.1% in the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 152,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,439,000 after buying an additional 80,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Celanese by 208.3% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 105,435 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,460,000 after buying an additional 71,238 shares during the last quarter. 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.