Argent Trust Co Sells 17,225 Shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB)

Key Points

• Argent Trust Co reduced its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 81.6%, selling 17,225 shares and retaining only 3,893 shares, valued at $274,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Dodge & Cox and Invesco Ltd., have increased their positions in LyondellBasell, indicating a mixed sentiment among large shareholders.
• LyondellBasell reported $0.62 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share with a yield of 10.5%.

Argent Trust Co decreased its stake in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 81.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,893 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 17,225 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co's holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 63.0% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 652 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the first quarter worth about $216,000. Banco Santander S.A. grew its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 85.9% during the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 71,474 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $5,032,000 after purchasing an additional 33,024 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 10.2% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 101,865 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $7,171,000 after purchasing an additional 9,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hoxton Planning & Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the first quarter worth about $338,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut LyondellBasell Industries from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Fermium Researc upgraded LyondellBasell Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays cut their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $72.00 to $62.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Argus cut LyondellBasell Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $63.08.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

NYSE LYB traded down $1.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $49.04. 3,648,130 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,260,149. The company has a market capitalization of $15.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has a 12-month low of $48.90 and a 12-month high of $99.36.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $7.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.58 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 0.74% and a return on equity of 9.35%. LyondellBasell Industries's revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.24 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 EPS for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. LyondellBasell Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 711.69%.

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.