LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Rating Increased to Buy at Vertical Research

Vertical Research upgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $75.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

LYB has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $38.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.22.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE LYB opened at $66.78 on Monday. LyondellBasell Industries has a 12 month low of $41.58 and a 12 month high of $78.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $53.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.81. The stock has a market cap of $21.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.64.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.44). The company 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%.LyondellBasell Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. LyondellBasell Industries’s payout ratio is currently -118.45%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EMC Capital Management grew its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 2,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Flax Pond Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $3,494,000. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Virtu Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 212.7% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 93,876 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,065,000 after acquiring an additional 63,854 shares during the period. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Institutional investors own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

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.