LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $106.00 to $101.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI raised shares of LyondellBasell Industries to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $110.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.56.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LYB opened at $86.44 on Wednesday. LyondellBasell Industries has a fifty-two week low of $83.36 and a fifty-two week high of $107.02. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 2.13. The firm has a market cap of $28.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.08.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by ($0.10). LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 5.29%. The business had revenue of $10.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. LyondellBasell Industries’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries will post 7.38 earnings per share for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.20%. LyondellBasell Industries’s payout ratio is 81.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 28.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,675,701 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $273,671,000 after buying an additional 600,554 shares during the period. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP purchased a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries during the 1st quarter valued at $61,327,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,828,869 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $461,930,000 after buying an additional 579,300 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 80.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 779,040 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $74,523,000 after buying an additional 347,877 shares during the period. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at $17,683,000. 71.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.