Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Stock

Key Points

• Barclays raised its LyondellBasell price target from $66 to $69 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying 3.27% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $72.22, with targets ranging from $62 to $82.
• LyondellBasell reported quarterly EPS of $2.54, slightly below the $2.57 consensus, while revenue rose 10% year over year to $8.50 billion; institutional investors own 71.2% of the stock.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by research analysts at Barclays from $66.00 to $69.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. Barclays's price target would indicate a potential upside of 3.27% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on LYB. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a report on Monday. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $68.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $77.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $72.22.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

Shares of LYB stock traded down $1.82 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $66.82. The company had a trading volume of 4,063,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,757,968. LyondellBasell Industries has a 12-month low of $41.58 and a 12-month high of $83.94. The company has a market capitalization of $21.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87, a PEG ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $62.75 and a 200-day moving average of $63.59.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by ($0.03). LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 21.94%. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries will post 9.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of LyondellBasell Industries

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LYB. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 16.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,185,571 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,734,948 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $775,795,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,833 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake 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 during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 16.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,848,621 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $148,925,000 after purchasing an additional 262,979 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 46.7% in the first 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 purchasing an additional 492,753 shares during the period. 71.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About LyondellBasell Industries

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.

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