Celanese (NYSE:CE) Trading Down 6.3% – Should You Sell?

Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) dropped 6.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $42.21 and last traded at $42.41. Approximately 773,708 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 2,215,247 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.24.

Trending Headlines about Celanese

Here are the key news stories impacting Celanese this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Celanese reported second-quarter adjusted EPS of $2.45, above the $2.21–$2.23 analyst consensus, while revenue reached approximately $2.75 billion, in line with expectations. Results benefited from stronger pricing, commercial execution, and demand in medical and electronics markets. Celanese Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates on Pricing and Execution
• Positive Sentiment: Sales rose 8.7% year over year to $2.752 billion, with volume up 4% and pricing up 14%. Engineered Materials revenue increased 9% sequentially, while Acetyl Chain revenue climbed 28%. Celanese also generated $209 million of operating cash flow and $140 million of free cash flow. Celanese Q2 Net Sales and EPS Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually heavy options activity accompanied the report, with investors purchasing 20,489 call options—about 963% above average daily call volume. This suggests heightened speculative interest but does not establish a clear direction for the shares.
• Negative Sentiment: Celanese guided to third-quarter 2026 adjusted EPS of $1.35 to $1.75, below the $1.79 analyst consensus at the midpoint. The guidance implies that investors may expect earnings momentum to weaken, overshadowing the second-quarter beat. Full-year adjusted EPS is expected to be about $6.00, with 2026 free cash flow projected at $700 million to $800 million. Celanese Q2 Key Metrics Compared With Estimates

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CE. Wall Street Zen downgraded Celanese from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Celanese from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Celanese from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Celanese from $53.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Celanese from $57.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Ten investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.44.

Celanese Trading Down 6.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The company has a fifty day moving average of $48.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.00.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.22. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 9.92% and a negative net margin of 11.54%.The company had revenue of $2.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Celanese has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.350-1.750 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Celanese Corporation will post 6.01 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Celanese

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Celanese by 41.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 32,450 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,842,000 after purchasing an additional 9,543 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Celanese by 265.2% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,032 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 3,654 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Celanese by 144.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 755 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Celanese by 42.1% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,768 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 2,303 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in Celanese by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 184,980 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,235,000 after buying an additional 11,347 shares during the period. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by 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.