Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Raises Holdings in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB)

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. by 22.7% during the first quarter, owning approximately 0.15% of the company valued at $34.35 million.
• Analysts have downgraded LyondellBasell Industries from a "hold" to a "sell" rating, with the average target price now set at $63.08.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, yielding 10.3%, although this reflects a high payout ratio of 711.69%.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its position in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 22.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 487,971 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 90,298 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.15% of LyondellBasell Industries worth $34,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 3,502.2% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,015,528 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $141,893,000 after buying an additional 1,959,576 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 207.8% during the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 2,254,589 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $167,448,000 after buying an additional 1,522,043 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 137.9% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,760,045 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $123,907,000 after buying an additional 1,020,169 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 7.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,239,562 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $650,465,000 after buying an additional 657,443 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the first quarter worth $43,280,000. 71.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded LyondellBasell Industries from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $81.00 to $65.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $64.00 to $54.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $56.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, LyondellBasell Industries presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $63.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Peter Z. E. Vanacker sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total transaction of $1,071,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 160,351 shares in the company, valued at $8,590,003.07. The trade was a 11.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

LyondellBasell Industries stock opened at $53.38 on Friday. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has a 12-month low of $47.55 and a 12-month high of $99.36. The stock has a market cap of $17.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.53.

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

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. LyondellBasell Industries's payout ratio is 711.69%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.