Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Buys 4,649 Shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB)

Key Points

• Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 30.7%, acquiring 4,649 additional shares, bringing its total to 19,777 shares valued at $1,392,000.
• LyondellBasell Industries reported a net margin of 2.81% and revenue of $7.68 billion for the most recent quarter, which was a 7.6% decline compared to the prior year.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.37 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 8.56%, despite a dividend payout ratio of 169.14%.

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 30.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,777 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,649 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $1,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 188,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $14,013,000 after purchasing an additional 39,957 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 121,075 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $8,993,000 after purchasing an additional 10,833 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 576,116 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $42,788,000 after purchasing an additional 21,422 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 421,179 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $30,649,000 after purchasing an additional 47,911 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 28,699 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,131,000 after purchasing an additional 5,560 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.20% of the company's stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:LYB traded down $1.88 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,186,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,666,571. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.72, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $60.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.67. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has a fifty-two week low of $51.11 and a fifty-two week high of $100.46.

LyondellBasell Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This is an increase from LyondellBasell Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. LyondellBasell Industries's dividend payout ratio is 169.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LYB. Argus lowered LyondellBasell Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Mizuho raised their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered LyondellBasell Industries from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.00.

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.