LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $69.75.

LYB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (down from $80.00) on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered LyondellBasell Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective (down from $76.00) on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Fermium Researc raised LyondellBasell Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

LyondellBasell Industries stock opened at $56.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.56, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.87. LyondellBasell Industries has a 1 year low of $51.11 and a 1 year high of $100.46. The business has a 50-day moving average of $60.64 and a 200-day moving average of $71.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $7.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 15.97% and a net margin of 3.39%. LyondellBasell Industries’s quarterly revenue was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 EPS for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.76%. This is a boost from LyondellBasell Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 165.43%.

Insider Activity at LyondellBasell Industries

In other LyondellBasell Industries news, Director Michael Sean Hanley purchased 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $72.05 per share, for a total transaction of $270,187.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 16,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,154,817.40. The trade was a 30.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Webster Bank N. A. increased its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 70.4% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 346 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 352.3% during the 1st quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 398 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp VA ADV increased its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 177.6% during the 1st quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 408 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

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.