LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Stock Price Up 7% Following Analyst Upgrade

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB) rose 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 changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 6,667,796 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.92.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Fermium Researc downgraded LyondellBasell Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Vertical Research cut shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $54.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the 2nd 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. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $21.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

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). LyondellBasell Industries had a positive return on equity of 4.93% and a negative net margin of 2.46%.The firm had revenue of $7.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 EPS for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.