LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $70.00 to $73.00 in a report on Thursday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $50.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $51.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $68.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.56.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Up 1.5%

LYB stock opened at $53.37 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.79. The company has a market capitalization of $17.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.03. LyondellBasell Industries has a 12 month low of $41.58 and a 12 month high of $83.94.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.53 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a negative net margin of 2.68% and a positive return on equity of 5.68%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently -110.84%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 108.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,159,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $396,615,000 after buying an additional 4,770,260 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 512.9% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,093,318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $133,941,000 after acquiring an additional 2,588,636 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 5,451.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,457,591 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $63,114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,431,334 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,971,741 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $388,476,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

About LyondellBasell Industries

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE: LYB) is a global chemical company headquartered in Houston, Texas, that specializes in the production of polyolefins and advanced polymers. Through its extensive portfolio, the company supplies raw materials for a wide range of end markets, including packaging, automotive, construction, electronics and consumer goods. By combining proprietary process technologies with expertise in catalysts, LyondellBasell aims to deliver value-added solutions that enhance product performance and sustainability.

The company’s integrated operations encompass the manufacture of olefins and polyolefins, advanced polymer products, chemical intermediates and refining activities.