Weiss Asset Management LP Buys Shares of 93,475 LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB – Get Rating) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 93,475 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,037,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LYB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 205.3% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,454,483 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $458,010,000 after purchasing an additional 2,995,335 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 738.8% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,176,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $190,356,000 after purchasing an additional 1,917,011 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 96.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,533,980 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $219,341,000 after purchasing an additional 1,243,077 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 171.0% in the third quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 1,348,644 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $101,525,000 after purchasing an additional 851,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 163.8% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,231,389 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $92,699,000 after purchasing an additional 764,671 shares during the last quarter. 91.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LYB. Mizuho lifted their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 11th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.95.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

LYB opened at $84.68 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $94.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.75. LyondellBasell Industries has a 52 week low of $71.46 and a 52 week high of $117.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.60 billion, a PE ratio of 7.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.21.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.20. LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 7.71% and a return on equity of 32.96%. The firm had revenue of $10.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.63 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 20.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 6th were issued a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 3rd. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jeffrey A. Kaplan sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.99, for a total value of $989,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,711,924. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About LyondellBasell Industries

(Get Rating)

LyondellBasell Industries NV engages in the refinery and production of plastic resins and other chemicals. It operates through the following segments: Olefins and Polyolefins-Americas; Olefins and Polyolefins-Europe, Asia, International; Intermediates and Derivatives; Advanced Polymer Solutions; Refining; and Technology.