LyondellBasell Industries’ (LYB) “Neutral” Rating Reiterated at Citigroup

Citigroup reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) in a research note released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Citigroup currently has a $63.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $72.00.

LYB has been the topic of a number of other reports. Zacks Research lowered LyondellBasell Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. KeyCorp initiated coverage on LyondellBasell Industries in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised LyondellBasell Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $68.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.06.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LYB opened at $58.65 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $62.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.73. The company has a market cap of $18.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -51.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.15 and a beta of 0.30. LyondellBasell Industries has a 12 month low of $41.58 and a 12 month high of $83.94.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $4.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.86. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.21 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a positive return on equity of 17.44% and a negative net margin of 1.13%.LyondellBasell Industries’s quarterly revenue was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries will post 9.09 EPS for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th were given a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently -244.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 140.3% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 668 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. Kelleher Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 4,112.5% in the 2nd quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors now owns 674 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 658 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 74.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 884 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 378 shares during the period. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. 71.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About LyondellBasell Industries

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. is a global chemical company that produces materials used across a wide range of industrial and consumer applications. Its portfolio includes olefins and polyolefins, such as polyethylene and polypropylene, as well as propylene oxide, oxyfuels, solvents, and other chemical intermediates.

The company’s products are used in packaging, healthcare, automotive components, construction materials, agriculture, home furnishings, and consumer goods. LyondellBasell also develops advanced polymer compounds and participates in recycling and circular-economy initiatives designed to increase the reuse of plastic materials.

LyondellBasell serves customers in markets throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and other international regions through manufacturing facilities, research operations, and commercial activities around the world.