LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $64.61 and last traded at $65.04, with a volume of 1584859 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $70.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on LYB shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $97.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $87.58.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $20.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.45%. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 129.47%.

Insider Activity at LyondellBasell Industries

In other LyondellBasell Industries news, Director Michael Sean Hanley purchased 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 16,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,154,817.40. The trade was a 30.54 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LYB. Dodge & Cox boosted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 16,965,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,260,052,000 after buying an additional 851,365 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,202,118 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,170,183,000 after acquiring an additional 230,327 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 3.0% during 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 period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,826,318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $432,721,000 after purchasing an additional 694,055 shares during the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.