JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reiterates “Neutral” Rating for LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) in a research report released on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $60.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $80.00.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $86.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group cut their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.33.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Down 8.1 %

LyondellBasell Industries stock opened at $57.98 on Friday. LyondellBasell Industries has a 12 month low of $57.57 and a 12 month high of $107.02. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $18.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.89.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.53). LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 3.39% and a return on equity of 15.97%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. Equities analysts predict that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. LyondellBasell Industries’s payout ratio is currently 129.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael Sean Hanley purchased 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $72.05 per share, for a total transaction of $270,187.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 16,028 shares in the company, valued at $1,154,817.40. This trade represents a 30.54 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LYB. Dodge & Cox boosted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 16,965,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,260,052,000 after buying an additional 851,365 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,202,118 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,170,183,000 after acquiring an additional 230,327 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,582,119 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $637,394,000 after purchasing an additional 558,137 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,804,205 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $512,913,000 after purchasing an additional 199,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,826,318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $432,721,000 after purchasing an additional 694,055 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

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.