Celanese Corporation $CE Holdings Lowered by MetLife Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC significantly reduced its holdings in Celanese Corporation by 89.5%, now owning only 3,171 shares after selling 26,978 shares.
• Celanese reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.44, outperforming expectations, although its revenue decreased by 4.5% compared to the previous year.
• Analysts have varied ratings on Celanese, with six giving a Buy rating, eleven a Hold rating, and two a Sell rating, reflecting diverse market opinions on the stock’s outlook.

MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 89.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,171 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 26,978 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Celanese were worth $180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CE. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Celanese by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 8,369 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 1,817 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Celanese by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 597,557 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,357,000 after acquiring an additional 48,115 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Celanese by 106.2% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 522,599 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $36,169,000 after acquiring an additional 269,121 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in Celanese by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 9,858 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $682,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in Celanese by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,197 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. 98.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Celanese Stock Performance

CE opened at $44.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $51.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. Celanese Corporation has a 12-month low of $36.29 and a 12-month high of $142.54.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.06. Celanese had a positive return on equity of 10.48% and a negative net margin of 16.30%.The company had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.38 EPS. Celanese's revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Celanese has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.100-1.400 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Celanese Corporation will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were 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 was Tuesday, July 29th. Celanese's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -0.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CE has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Celanese from $47.00 to $43.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research lowered Celanese from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Celanese from $67.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Celanese from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Celanese from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Celanese presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $57.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Celanese

In other news, Director Timothy Go acquired 1,039 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $46.25 per share, with a total value of $48,053.75. Following the acquisition, the director owned 4,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at $204,193.75. This trade represents a 30.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

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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