LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after UBS Group upgraded the stock from a sell rating to a neutral rating. UBS Group now has a $73.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $42.00. LyondellBasell Industries traded as high as $75.80 and last traded at $75.5450, with a volume of 5726816 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.20.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. KeyCorp raised shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $73.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Vertical Research raised shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $51.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Mizuho increased their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded LyondellBasell Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $38.00 to $68.00 in a report on Thursday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LyondellBasell Industries news, major shareholder Ai Investments Holdings Llc sold 384,548 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.13, for a total transaction of $26,199,255.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,270,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $359,107,643.34. This trade represents a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LYB. Cooper Financial Group raised its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 5,146 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Investment Research Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC now owns 5,100 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 2.5% during the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,345 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,020 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $884,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 97.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 534 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.38. The stock has a market cap of $24.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.57, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.64.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.44). The business had revenue of $7.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a positive return on equity of 4.93% and a negative net margin of 2.46%.LyondellBasell Industries’s revenue was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -118.45%.

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.