LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) had its price objective lifted by analysts at Barclays from $66.00 to $69.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 3.27% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on LYB. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a report on Monday. Citigroup lowered shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.22.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

LYB stock traded down $1.82 on Monday, reaching $66.82. 4,063,401 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,757,968. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $62.75 and a 200-day moving average of $63.59. LyondellBasell Industries has a twelve month low of $41.58 and a twelve month high of $83.94. The firm has a market cap of $21.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.57 by ($0.03). LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 21.94% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. LyondellBasell Industries’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that LyondellBasell Industries will post 9.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 29,298,859 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,542,585,000 after purchasing an additional 4,185,571 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,734,948 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $775,795,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,833 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 734.6% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 884,436 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,566,000 after purchasing an additional 778,459 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 23.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,534,647 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $284,750,000 after purchasing an additional 660,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 46.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,547,735 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $124,686,000 after buying an additional 492,753 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Company Profile

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. is a global chemical company that produces polymers, chemicals and related products used in packaging, transportation, construction, healthcare, consumer goods and other industries. Its portfolio includes polyethylene, polypropylene, advanced polymers, propylene oxide, solvents, acetyls and other chemical intermediates.

The company also operates businesses involved in refining and in the development and licensing of chemical and polymer technologies. Its products are used to manufacture items such as food and beverage packaging, automotive components, medical products, coatings, adhesives and household goods.