LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Receives $87.58 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the thirteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $82.33.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Mizuho decreased their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $97.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $86.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price target (down previously from $80.00) on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Friday.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Down 8.1 %

LyondellBasell Industries stock opened at $57.98 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $74.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.14. LyondellBasell Industries has a 1-year low of $57.57 and a 1-year high of $107.02. The company has a market cap of $18.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

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

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.24%. LyondellBasell Industries’s payout ratio is 129.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LyondellBasell Industries news, Director Michael Sean Hanley bought 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $72.05 per share, with a total value of $270,187.50. Following the transaction, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LYB. Dodge & Cox boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 851,365 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 230,327 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted 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 worth $637,394,000 after buying an additional 558,137 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $512,913,000 after buying an additional 199,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,826,318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $432,721,000 after buying an additional 694,055 shares in the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About LyondellBasell Industries

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.