Insider Buying: Celanese (NYSE:CE) SVP Buys 2,153 Shares

Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) SVP Mark Christopher Murray purchased 2,153 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $45.52 per share, with a total value of $98,004.56. Following the purchase, the senior vice president directly owned 30,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,385,264.64. The trade was a 7.61% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Celanese Trading Down 3.1%

Shares of Celanese stock traded down $1.38 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,226,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,238,510. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Celanese Corporation has a 52 week low of $35.13 and a 52 week high of $70.70. The stock has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $47.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.90.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 13.04% and a negative net margin of 12.04%.Celanese’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. Celanese has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.350-1.750 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Celanese Corporation will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Celanese

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Celanese during the 2nd quarter valued at $614,675,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Celanese by 1,539.8% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,133,216 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $90,192,000 after purchasing an additional 2,003,127 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in 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 worth $235,312,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076,645 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Celanese by 83.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,187,235 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $143,849,000 after purchasing an additional 993,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Celanese by 21.0% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 887,600 shares during the period. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Celanese from $72.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $50.00 price target on shares of Celanese in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Celanese from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Celanese in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Mizuho set a $50.00 target price on shares of Celanese in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.88.

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.