Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Celanese Corporation $CE

Key Points

• Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Celanese Corporation by 14.4%, holding a total of 159,145 shares worth approximately $8.8 million.
• Director Timothy Go acquired 1,039 shares of Celanese, which reflects a 30.78% increase in his position, bringing his total ownership to 4,415 shares valued at about $204,193.
• Celanese's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $1.44, surpassing estimates, while analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" with a price target of $56.11.

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 159,145 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 20,006 shares during the quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC owned about 0.15% of Celanese worth $8,806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC raised its stake in Celanese by 73.2% during the first quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 440 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Celanese by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,089 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Celanese by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 5,058 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 37,252 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in Celanese by 27.9% in the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,165 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Celanese

In related news, Director Timothy Go bought 1,039 shares of Celanese stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $46.25 per share, with a total value of $48,053.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,415 shares in the company, valued at $204,193.75. The trade was a 30.78% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CE shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Celanese from $67.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Celanese from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Celanese from $55.00 to $47.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Celanese from $47.00 to $43.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Celanese from $59.00 to $57.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Celanese currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.11.

Celanese Stock Performance

Shares of Celanese stock opened at $39.94 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The stock's fifty day moving average is $44.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.09. Celanese Corporation has a 52 week low of $36.29 and a 52 week high of $136.55. The company has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a PE ratio of -2.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.13.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Celanese had a negative net margin of 16.30% and a positive return on equity of 10.48%. The business's revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. Celanese has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.100-1.400 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Celanese Corporation will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be paid a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 28th. Celanese's dividend payout ratio is currently -0.81%.

About Celanese

Celanese Corporation, a chemical and specialty materials company, manufactures and sells high performance engineered polymers in the United States and internationally. It operates through Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain. The Engineered Materials segment develops, produces, and supplies specialty polymers for automotive and medical applications, as well as for use in industrial products and consumer electronics.

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