LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Upgraded by UBS Group to “Neutral” Rating

UBS Group upgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $73.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $42.00.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Vertical Research raised LyondellBasell Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered LyondellBasell Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded LyondellBasell Industries from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $73.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.22.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

Shares of LYB stock opened at $75.37 on Wednesday. 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 has a market cap of $24.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.35, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50 day moving average is $57.05 and its 200 day moving average is $50.56. LyondellBasell Industries has a 52-week low of $41.58 and a 52-week high of $76.10.

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

LyondellBasell Industries Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently -118.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LyondellBasell Industries

In related news, major shareholder Ai Investments Holdings Llc sold 384,548 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.13, for a total transaction of $26,199,255.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,270,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $359,107,643.34. This trade represents a 6.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LYB. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 21,899 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after buying an additional 6,297 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 35.4% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 6,866 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 1,796 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 46.0% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,264 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 39,166 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,266,000 after buying an additional 1,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 6.4% during the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 63,060 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,649,000 after acquiring an additional 3,784 shares during the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About LyondellBasell Industries

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.