LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on LYB. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $82.00 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Fermium Researc raised shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $51.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $38.00 to $68.00 in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $52.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.44.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of LYB opened at $73.30 on Friday. LyondellBasell Industries has a 1-year low of $41.58 and a 1-year high of $77.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.81. The stock has a market cap of $23.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.44). The company had revenue of $7.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a negative net margin of 2.46% and a positive return on equity of 4.93%. The firm’s revenue was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 EPS 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 paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -118.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LyondellBasell Industries

In other LyondellBasell Industries news, major shareholder Ai Investments Holdings Llc sold 384,548 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly owned 5,270,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $359,107,643.34. This represents a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYB. EMC Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 2,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Flax Pond Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries in the fourth quarter worth $3,494,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Virtu Financial LLC raised its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 212.7% during the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 93,876 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,065,000 after acquiring an additional 63,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the 4th quarter worth $52,000. 71.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.