Is Celanese Corp. overvalued or undervalued?

As of 18 February 2025, the valuation grade for Celanese Corp. has moved from expensive to risky, indicating a shift in perception regarding its market value. Based on the current metrics, Celanese appears to be overvalued, particularly given its high EV to EBITDA ratio of 11.97 and a Price to Book Value of 1.82, which suggest that the stock is trading at a premium relative to its assets. Additionally, the company's return on equity (ROE) is notably negative at -1.64%, further reinforcing concerns about its profitability.
In comparison to its peers, Celanese Corp. has a significantly higher P/E ratio of 144.70 compared to Westlake Corp.'s 82.20 and Albemarle Corp.'s -101.94, indicating that investors are paying much more for each dollar of earnings, or in this case, losses. The stock has underperformed against the S&P 500 across multiple time frames, with a year-to-date return of -34.29% compared to the index's 12.22%, and a staggering -64.01% over the past year against the S&P 500's 17.14%. This performance further suggests that Celanese is not only overvalued but also struggling significantly in the current market environment.