Bank of America Corp DE Sells 159,027 Shares of Celanese Corporation $CE

Key Points

• Bank of America reduced its Celanese stake by 10.1%, selling 159,027 shares and retaining 1.42 million shares worth approximately $93.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 98.87% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $63.88, though several firms recently lowered their targets.
• Celanese exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.45 in adjusted EPS versus the $2.23 estimate, while revenue rose 8.7% year over year to $2.75 billion. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.03 per share.

Bank of America Corp DE trimmed its holdings in shares of Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 10.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,418,609 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 159,027 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 1.29% of Celanese worth $93,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Celanese by 65.5% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Celanese by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 126,363 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $8,311,000 after purchasing an additional 22,537 shares during the last quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Celanese during the first quarter worth approximately $210,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Celanese by 2.3% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 24,890 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,637,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Celanese by 102.7% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 362,501 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $23,842,000 after purchasing an additional 183,694 shares during the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Celanese from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Celanese from $57.00 to $54.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Celanese from $53.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Celanese from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Celanese from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Celanese has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.88.

Celanese Stock Performance

NYSE CE opened at $43.87 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $48.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.88. Celanese Corporation has a 52-week low of $35.13 and a 52-week high of $70.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.76.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.22. Celanese had a negative net margin of 12.04% and a positive return on equity of 13.04%. The business had revenue of $2.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Celanese has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.350-1.750 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Celanese Corporation will post 6 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. Celanese's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1.12%.

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.

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