LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Shares Up 7% on Analyst Upgrade

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB) was up 7% during trading on Thursday after BMO Capital Markets upgraded the stock from an underperform rating to a market perform rating. BMO Capital Markets now has a $68.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $38.00. LyondellBasell Industries traded as high as $67.80 and last traded at $66.2810. Approximately 4,828,641 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 6,667,796 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.92.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded LyondellBasell Industries from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Evercore decreased their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $65.00 to $57.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LYB. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 6,314.3% in the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 449 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the period. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the second quarter valued at $29,000. 71.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $21.23 billion, a PE ratio of -28.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $52.38 and a 200-day moving average of $49.70.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.26) earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a negative net margin of 2.46% and a positive return on equity of 4.93%. LyondellBasell Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. Research analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently -118.45%.

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.