BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 447,393 Shares of Celanese Corporation $CE

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets cut its Celanese stake by 64.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 447,393 shares and leaving it with 246,640 shares worth about $10.4 million.
• Celanese reported quarterly EPS of $0.85, missing estimates by $0.03, while revenue came in at $2.34 billion, roughly in line with expectations and down 2.2% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but positive overall, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $67.81; several firms recently adjusted ratings and targets upward or downward.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its stake in Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 64.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 246,640 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 447,393 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.23% of Celanese worth $10,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CE. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Celanese by 41.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 32,450 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 9,543 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Celanese by 265.2% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,032 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 3,654 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Celanese by 144.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 755 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Celanese by 42.1% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,768 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 2,303 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 184,980 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,235,000 after buying an additional 11,347 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.87% of the company's stock.

Celanese Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CE opened at $49.06 on Tuesday. Celanese Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $35.13 and a fifty-two week high of $70.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.74.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.03). Celanese had a positive return on equity of 9.92% and a negative net margin of 11.54%.The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. Celanese's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Celanese has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.000-2.400 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Celanese Corporation will post 5.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 27th were given a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 27th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Celanese's payout ratio is -1.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Celanese from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Celanese from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Celanese from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Celanese from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Celanese from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.81.

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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