LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.18 EPS

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) posted its earnings results on Friday. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.18, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $7.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.53 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a negative net margin of 2.46% and a positive return on equity of 4.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from LyondellBasell Industries’ conference call:

• LyondellBasell says the Middle East conflict has created durable global supply tightness and a geopolitical risk premium, and its low?cost U.S. Gulf Coast and European capacity position the company to capture higher export volumes and margins.
• First?quarter results improved meaningfully with EBITDA of $615 million, EPS of $0.49, $2.6 billion cash and $7.3 billion liquidity, and a 12?month EBITDA?to?cash conversion of 111%, highlighting strong cash generation and financial flexibility.
• To bolster the balance sheet the board approved a 50% cut to the quarterly dividend, and the company consumed $269 million of operating cash in Q1 while planning an intentional working?capital build in Q2, signaling near?term cautiousness despite improving markets.
• Strategic portfolio and cost actions — completion of the sale of four European assets, ~3,000 headcount reductions (~15%), and the Value Enhancement/Cash Improvement programs targeting $500 million incremental cash this year — are expected to lower fixed costs and improve mid?cycle returns.
• Near?term operations were hurt by unplanned outages (notably Bayport PO/TBA and LaPorte acetyls) and weather impacts that reduced first?quarter EBITDA (Bayport ~ $40M), though management expects restarts and higher utilization in coming quarters.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

NYSE LYB opened at $74.96 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $24.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.32. LyondellBasell Industries has a 1 year low of $41.58 and a 1 year high of $83.94. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

LyondellBasell Industries Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently -118.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LyondellBasell Industries news, major shareholder Ai Investments Holdings Llc sold 384,548 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.13, for a total value of $26,199,255.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,270,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $359,107,643.34. This represents a 6.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of LyondellBasell Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 12,112 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 3,250 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,117,313 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $264,880,000 after purchasing an additional 1,173,869 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 43,974 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,904,000 after purchasing an additional 9,618 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $1,290,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 85,215 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares during the period. 71.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on LYB shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $82.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Fermium Researc raised shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LyondellBasell Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

LyondellBasell Industries News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting LyondellBasell Industries this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 EPS topped expectations — LYB reported $0.49 EPS vs. the $0.31 consensus, driven by pricing gains and cost management; the beat is the primary catalyst for the stock lift. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Supply disruptions in the Middle East tightened markets and supported pricing for polymers, helping margins and offsetting weaker volumes. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Completed sale of select European olefins and polyolefins assets to AEQUITA — a strategic step that can simplify operations and potentially free cash/redirect capital. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue missed estimates — Q1 revenue was $7.20B vs. the $7.53B consensus and was down ~6.3% year?over?year, reflecting volume pressures even as pricing improved. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary is mixed — positive EPS surprise and pricing offset by higher feedstock costs and uneven segment performance, so near-term outlook depends on feedstock/volume trends. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability metrics remain mixed — the company reported a negative net margin (-2.46%) despite the EPS beat, suggesting non-operating items, inventory effects or restructuring costs are weighing on reported margins. Article Title

LyondellBasell Industries Company Profile

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE: LYB) is a global chemical company headquartered in Houston, Texas, that specializes in the production of polyolefins and advanced polymers. Through its extensive portfolio, the company supplies raw materials for a wide range of end markets, including packaging, automotive, construction, electronics and consumer goods. By combining proprietary process technologies with expertise in catalysts, LyondellBasell aims to deliver value-added solutions that enhance product performance and sustainability.

The company’s integrated operations encompass the manufacture of olefins and polyolefins, advanced polymer products, chemical intermediates and refining activities.