LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Given New $72.00 Price Target at Barclays

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) had its price target trimmed by Barclays from $80.00 to $72.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on LYB. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $86.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $87.58.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

NYSE LYB opened at $70.03 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $22.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.06. LyondellBasell Industries has a 1-year low of $69.12 and a 1-year high of $107.02.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.75 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 129.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LyondellBasell Industries news, Director Michael Sean Hanley purchased 3,750 shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $72.05 per share, with a total value of $270,187.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 16,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,154,817.40. This represents a 30.54 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 207.8% during the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 2,254,589 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $167,448,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522,043 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,858,033 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $283,452,000 after buying an additional 1,260,913 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $81,015,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $69,115,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 211.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,283,163 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $123,055,000 after acquiring an additional 871,708 shares during the period. 71.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.