Investors Buy Large Volume of LyondellBasell Industries Put Options (NYSE:LYB)

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders bought 11,852 put options on the company. This is an increase of 34% compared to the typical daily volume of 8,814 put options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of LyondellBasell Industries

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 62.2% in the 2nd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 42,321 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,583,000 after acquiring an additional 16,234 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 375.1% during the 2nd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,042,000 after purchasing an additional 14,217 shares during the last quarter. Hosking Partners LLP boosted its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 33.3% during the third quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 595,587 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,208,000 after purchasing an additional 148,673 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the second quarter valued at about $280,000,000. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 13.1% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,807,743 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $480,972,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135,258 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

LyondellBasell Industries stock opened at $72.28 on Friday. LyondellBasell Industries has a 52-week low of $41.58 and a 52-week high of $75.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $55.43 and its 200 day moving average is $50.22. The company has a market cap of $23.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.02, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.64.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.44). The business had revenue of $7.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a positive return on equity of 4.93% and a negative net margin of 2.46%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Cuts Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. LyondellBasell Industries’s payout ratio is presently -118.45%.

More LyondellBasell Industries News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and supply‑tightening narrative lifted sentiment — multiple brokers (KeyBanc, RBC, Jefferies) have upgraded LYB this month, arguing the company could benefit from tighter global petrochemical supplies and recovering polyolefins margins; that thesis drove recent rallies. Quiver Quantitative analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Geopolitical risks (Middle East) are being priced as a potential tailwind for U.S. Gulf‑Coast chemical producers, including LYB, supporting expectations for stronger pricing and spreads. Invezz article
• Positive Sentiment: Broker optimism persists in places — recent coverage highlights upside potential (Jefferies and others have bullish forecasts), which can sustain a re‑rating if spreads firm. American Banking News
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $70 from $48 but kept an “equal‑weight” rating — the higher target narrows the disconnect with the market but its stance signals a hold/limited‑upside view that can cap further rallies. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage highlighting LYB as a potential dividend play despite prior payout cuts may attract income‑seeking flows, but those buyers may be cautious until margins stabilize. Barron’s
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual options activity: investors bought ~11,852 put contracts (≈34% above average), suggesting increased hedging or bearish speculation after the recent run. (No article link provided in the feed.)
• Negative Sentiment: Fundamentals/headwinds: LYB missed Q4 EPS expectations in late January and reported year‑over‑year revenue declines; until spreads and volumes recover, earnings risk remains a downside catalyst.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LYB shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. KeyCorp upgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $73.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research upgraded LyondellBasell Industries from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.28.

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.