StockNews.com Downgrades LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on LYB. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $95.00 target price (down from $112.00) on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $86.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LyondellBasell Industries has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.73.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE LYB opened at $73.01 on Wednesday. LyondellBasell Industries has a 12-month low of $72.21 and a 12-month high of $107.02. The company has a market cap of $23.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.42.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by ($0.10). LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The company had revenue of $10.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries will post 7.02 EPS for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.58%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $76.06 per share, with a total value of $380,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 18,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,382,390.50. This represents a 37.95 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,326 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,615 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 216.9% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 7,201 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 5,207.9% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 11,412 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 11,197 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries in the second quarter worth $281,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 6.6% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,375 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About LyondellBasell Industries

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.