LyondellBasell Industries’ (LYB) “Sell” Rating Reiterated at UBS Group

UBS Group reissued their sell rating on shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $51.00 target price on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $76.00.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays reduced their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup dropped their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $75.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.50.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Up 12.5 %

NYSE:LYB opened at $59.90 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $72.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.02. LyondellBasell Industries has a 52 week low of $51.11 and a 52 week high of $107.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.89.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.53). LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 15.97% and a net margin of 3.39%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 EPS for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. LyondellBasell Industries’s payout ratio is 129.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael Sean Hanley purchased 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $72.05 per share, with a total value of $270,187.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 16,028 shares in the company, valued at $1,154,817.40. This represents a 30.54 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 3.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,229,416 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $501,501,000 after buying an additional 187,150 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 202.4% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $964,000 after buying an additional 8,691 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 271,626 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $20,174,000 after buying an additional 20,310 shares during the last quarter. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $503,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,973 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 3,958 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Company Profile

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.