LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $87.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. LyondellBasell Industries traded as high as $83.86 and last traded at $82.4840, with a volume of 8203950 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $80.45.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on LYB. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $38.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Fermium Researc raised LyondellBasell Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Citigroup raised LyondellBasell Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $49.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Vertical Research upgraded LyondellBasell Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $51.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.56.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Ai Investments Holdings Llc sold 384,548 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 5,270,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $359,107,643.34. This represents a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 40.4% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 21,899 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,542,000 after acquiring an additional 6,297 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 35.4% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 6,866 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,796 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 18,101 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the 2nd quarter worth $47,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 201,285 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,646,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480 shares in the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $25.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.55, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50 day moving average is $61.99 and its 200 day moving average is $51.93. 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 earnings results on Saturday, February 21st. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter. LyondellBasell Industries had a positive return on equity of 4.93% and a negative net margin of 2.46%.The company had revenue of $7.09 billion for the quarter. Research analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued 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 3.4%. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently -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.