Celanese (NYSE:CE) Raised to Buy at Vertical Research

Celanese (NYSE:CE) was upgraded by research analysts at Vertical Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Monday. The firm currently has a $60.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock. Vertical Research’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 21.78% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Celanese from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research downgraded Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Celanese from $40.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Celanese in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Celanese from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Celanese has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.39.

Celanese Stock Performance

Shares of CE opened at $49.27 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average is $49.24 and its 200-day moving average is $44.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. Celanese has a 12 month low of $35.13 and a 12 month high of $63.55.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. Celanese had a negative net margin of 12.15% and a positive return on equity of 8.75%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. Celanese has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.700-0.850 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Celanese will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Celanese

In other Celanese news, CFO Chuck Kyrish purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $41.03 per share, for a total transaction of $205,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,914 shares in the company, valued at $447,801.42. This represents a 84.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Celanese

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Celanese by 55.4% in the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new position in shares of Celanese in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Celanese by 140.4% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 827 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Celanese in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.