LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $64.61 and last traded at $65.04, with a volume of 1584859 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $70.65.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LYB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $86.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $87.58.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Down 10.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $20.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $75.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.71.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.53). LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 15.97% and a net margin of 3.39%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. LyondellBasell Industries’s payout ratio is 129.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LyondellBasell Industries

In related news, Director Michael Sean Hanley acquired 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $72.05 per share, for a total transaction of $270,187.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 16,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,154,817.40. This trade represents a 30.54 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Webster Bank N. A. raised its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 346 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 268.2% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 405 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 84.9% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 466 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 107.6% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 548 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. 71.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LyondellBasell Industries Company Profile

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. operates as a chemical company in the United States, Germany, Mexico, Italy, Poland, France, Japan, China, the Netherlands, and internationally. The company operates in six segments: Olefins and PolyolefinsAmericas; Olefins and PolyolefinsEurope, Asia, International; Intermediates and Derivatives; Advanced Polymer Solutions; Refining; and Technology.