Celanese (NYSE:CE) Price Target Raised to $57.00

Key Points

• Barclays raised its Celanese price target from $49 to $57, while maintaining an “equal weight” rating; the new target implies 13.63% upside from the prior close.
• Celanese reported quarterly EPS of $1.65, beating the $1.56 consensus, but revenue of $2.56 billion fell short of estimates. The company raised its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to $6.00–$6.25.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $60.88. Management is also targeting $700 million–$800 million in free cash flow for 2027.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by analysts at Barclays from $49.00 to $57.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Barclays's target price would indicate a potential upside of 13.63% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on CE. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Celanese from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $50.00 target price on Celanese in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Mizuho set a $50.00 price target on shares of Celanese in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Celanese from $57.00 to $54.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Celanese in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.88.

Celanese Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CE traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $50.16. The company had a trading volume of 430,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,065,948. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $46.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.42. Celanese has a 12 month low of $35.13 and a 12 month high of $70.70. The firm has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.72.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The basic materials company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.62 billion. Celanese had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 2.66%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Celanese will post 6.00 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Mark Murray acquired 2,153 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $45.52 per share, with a total value of $98,004.56. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president owned 30,432 shares in the company, valued at $1,385,264.64. The trade was a 7.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Celanese

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CE. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Celanese in the 2nd quarter valued at $614,675,000. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Celanese by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,547,744 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $167,565,000 after acquiring an additional 391,204 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Celanese by 83.2% during 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. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Celanese during the second quarter valued at approximately $62,580,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Celanese in the second quarter valued at approximately $44,564,000. Institutional investors own 98.87% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Celanese

Here are the key news stories impacting Celanese this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Celanese reported third-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.65, above analyst expectations, with pricing strength and commercial execution helping earnings. It also raised its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to $6.00–$6.25, versus consensus of $6.00. Celanese Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates on Pricing Strength, Sales Miss
• Positive Sentiment: Management is targeting $700 million–$800 million in free cash flow for 2027, with cost reductions and interest savings expected to support improvement. The target may bolster confidence in Celanese’s efforts to strengthen its financial position. Celanese targets $700M-$800M 2027 free cash flow
• Positive Sentiment: A collaboration with Röchling will develop lower-carbon POM applications using captured CO₂. The partnership could support sustainable product offerings, although its financial impact is not yet clear. Celanese Partners With Rochling to Expand Lower-Carbon POM Applications
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly revenue of $2.56 billion came in below the $2.62 billion analyst estimate, despite increasing 5.7% year over year. Investors may also look for evidence that the earnings improvement translates into stronger cash flow. Celanese Stock Earnings Beat Raises The Cash Flow Question

About Celanese

Celanese Corporation NYSE: CE is a global chemical and specialty materials company headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company develops and manufactures engineered materials and chemical products used by manufacturers in industries including automotive, consumer goods, medical and healthcare, electronics, industrial equipment, energy and infrastructure.

Celanese operates primarily through its Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain businesses. Its portfolio includes engineered polymers, thermoplastic compounds and other specialty materials, as well as acetyl products such as acetic acid, vinyl acetate monomer, emulsions and related intermediates.

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