Cypress Capital Group Increases Position in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB)

Key Points

• Cypress Capital Group increased its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 471.2% in Q1, acquiring an additional 22,211 shares, bringing their total holdings to approximately $1.9 million.
• Despite a revenue of $7.66 billion in the most recent quarter, LyondellBasell reported earnings per share of $0.62, missing expectations by $0.25.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37, representing an annualized yield of 11.2% but with a high payout ratio of 711.69%.

Cypress Capital Group boosted its position in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 471.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,925 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,211 shares during the quarter. Cypress Capital Group's holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $1,896,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 188,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $14,013,000 after buying an additional 39,957 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 114,486 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $8,503,000 after buying an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 107.6% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 548 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 55.5% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 15,430 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,146,000 after buying an additional 5,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 48,641 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,613,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.20% of the company's stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

LYB traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $53.39. 4,033,058 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,918,816. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has a 1-year low of $47.55 and a 1-year high of $99.36. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $17.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.85. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $59.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.88.

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

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on LYB. Citigroup cut their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $56.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Bank Of America (Bofa) cut their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $56.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $64.00 to $54.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen cut LyondellBasell Industries from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Three equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LyondellBasell Industries presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $63.08.

LyondellBasell Industries 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.