Irving, Texas-based Celanese Corporation (CE) is a global hybrid chemical company. The company produces and sells high performance engineered polymers and other chemicals and specialty materials. With a market cap of $6.5 billion, Celanese operates through Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain segments.
Companies worth $2 billion or more are generally described as "mid-cap stocks," Celanese fits right into that category, with its market cap exceeding this threshold, reflecting its influence in the chemical industry.
Despite its strengths, CE stock has tanked 65.6% from its three-year high of $172.16 touched on Mar. 8, 2024. Meanwhile, CE stock has plunged 14.5% over the past three months, notably underperforming the Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLB) 1.5% uptick during the same time frame.
Celanese’s performance has remained grim over the longer term as well. CE stock has plummeted 57.7% over the past six months and 64.5% over the past 52 weeks, significantly underperforming XLB’s 10.7% dip over the past six months and a 5.1% decline over the past year.
To confirm the bearish trend, CE has traded mostly below its 50-day moving average since mid-May 2024 and below its 200-day moving average since mid-June 2024 with some fluctuations.
Celanese’s stock prices tanked 21.5% in the trading session after the release of its disappointing Q4 results on Feb. 18. In recent quarters, sales across the industry were impacted due to the prolonged demand softness from critical end-markets including paints & coatings, automotive, construction, etc. The company’s engineered materials sales took a notable hit leading to a 7.7% year-over-year decline in overall net sales to approximately $2.4 billion. Celanese also experienced a significant drop in profits, its adjusted EBIT declined by a staggering 23.3% year-over-year to $333 million. Meanwhile, despite a decrease in CapEx, the company’s free cash flows decreased 45.7% year-over-year to $381 million, which unsettled investor confidence.
Furthermore, Celanese has also underperformed its peer Olin Corporation’s (OLN) massive decline of 49% over the past six months and 56.7% over the past 52 weeks.
Among the 17 analysts covering the CE stock, the consensus rating is a “Hold.” Its mean price target of $61.53 represents a modest 4% premium to current price levels.
