LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Reaches New 12-Month High at $107.02

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $107.02 and last traded at $102.66, with a volume of 1453119 shares. The stock had previously closed at $101.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LYB shares. Citigroup increased their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $107.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.08.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $101.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.90. The company has a market cap of $33.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.18.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $9.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.70 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 5.20%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. Analysts predict that LyondellBasell Industries will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. LyondellBasell Industries’s payout ratio is presently 77.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan sold 18,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.46, for a total value of $1,819,431.06. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,246.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan sold 18,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.46, for a total transaction of $1,819,431.06. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,233,246.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Chukwuemeka A. Oyolu sold 7,084 shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.47, for a total transaction of $711,729.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,770,460.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 80,853 shares of company stock worth $8,077,267. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LyondellBasell Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LYB. PGGM Investments boosted its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 13,663 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,299,000 after acquiring an additional 879 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $14,000,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,085,474 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $386,894,000 after buying an additional 815,083 shares during the last quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. bought a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $2,001,000. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $1,426,000. 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.