LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $88.25.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $97.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $86.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LyondellBasell Industries news, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $76.06 per share, for a total transaction of $380,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,382,390.50. This represents a 37.95 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LYB. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 346 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 268.2% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 405 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries during the third quarter worth $31,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 84.9% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 466 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:LYB opened at $77.53 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $76.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.59. LyondellBasell Industries has a 52 week low of $72.21 and a 52 week high of $107.02. The company has a market capitalization of $25.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.83.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company posted $1.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.91%. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 129.47%.

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.