Celanese Corporation $CE Stake Increased by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management sharply increased its Celanese stake by 1,023.3% in Q4, ending with 198,827 shares worth about $8.4 million.
• Celanese reported Q1 earnings of $0.85 per share, missing estimates by a small margin, while revenue of $2.34 billion matched expectations and was down 2.2% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally positive on the stock, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.81, despite the shares falling about 1% to $52.40.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE - Free Report) by 1,023.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 198,827 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 181,126 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned approximately 0.18% of Celanese worth $8,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 111.1% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 513 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in shares of Celanese in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 350.5% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 901 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Celanese by 100.0% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 662 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Celanese in the third quarter valued at $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.87% of the company's stock.

Celanese Stock Down 1.0%

CE stock opened at $52.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Celanese Corporation has a 52-week low of $35.13 and a 52-week high of $70.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $61.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.81.

Celanese (NYSE:CE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.03). Celanese had a negative net margin of 11.54% and a positive return on equity of 9.92%. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Celanese has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.000-2.400 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Celanese Corporation will post 5.65 EPS for the current year.

Celanese Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Celanese from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Celanese from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Vertical Research raised shares of Celanese from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Celanese from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $86.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Evercore set a $63.00 price target on shares of Celanese in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Celanese has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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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