Van ECK Associates Corp Cuts Stock Position in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its stake in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) by 27.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,115 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 14,073 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $2,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYB. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 211.9% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,283,163 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $123,055,000 after purchasing an additional 871,708 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 4.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,023,982 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $769,500,000 after acquiring an additional 362,671 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 11.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,875,267 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $268,664,000 after acquiring an additional 293,622 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 4.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,605,151 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $638,964,000 after acquiring an additional 277,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew 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 acquiring an additional 230,327 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Up 0.2 %

LYB stock opened at $77.63 on Friday. LyondellBasell Industries has a 52-week low of $72.21 and a 52-week high of $107.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $25.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.29.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at LyondellBasell Industries

In other LyondellBasell Industries news, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan bought 5,000 shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $76.06 per share, for a total transaction of $380,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,382,390.50. This represents a 37.95 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LYB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $97.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays dropped their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $86.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded LyondellBasell Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.25.

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.