Empowered Funds LLC Takes $2.89 Million Position in Celanese Corporation $CE

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 62,763 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,887,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in shares of Celanese in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Celanese by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 662 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Celanese by 175.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 896 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Celanese in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. 98.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Celanese Stock Up 5.7%

NYSE:CE opened at $46.64 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Celanese Corporation has a one year low of $35.13 and a one year high of $70.70. The company has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of -4.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.76.

Celanese (NYSE:CE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. Celanese had a negative net margin of 12.04% and a positive return on equity of 13.04%. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. Celanese has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.350-1.750 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Celanese Corporation will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Celanese Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. Celanese’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on CE. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Celanese from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Celanese in a research note on Friday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Celanese from $53.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Celanese from $57.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Celanese from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mark Christopher Murray purchased 2,153 shares of Celanese stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $45.52 per share, for a total transaction of $98,004.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 30,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,385,264.64. This represents a 7.61% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Celanese Profile

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.