Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Celanese Call Options (NYSE:CE)

Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CEGet Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors bought 5,591 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 162% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,138 call options.

Celanese Stock Performance

NYSE CE traded down $0.84 on Monday, reaching $44.85. The stock had a trading volume of 475,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,230,725. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.38. Celanese has a 12-month low of $35.13 and a 12-month high of $70.70. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $51.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.88. The stock has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Celanese Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Celanese from $72.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Celanese in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Celanese from $80.00 to $57.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Celanese from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Celanese from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.44.

View Our Latest Report on Celanese

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CE. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position 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 worth $90,192,000 after acquiring an additional 2,003,127 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,076,645 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $215,255,000 after purchasing an additional 887,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Celanese by 103.7% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,645,689 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $91,056,000 after purchasing an additional 837,944 shares during the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Celanese

(Get Free Report)

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.

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