Empowered Funds LLC Increases Stock Position in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. $LYB

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 6.9% during the first quarter, bringing its total to 126,334 shares valued at approximately $8.89 million.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 10.1%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 711.69%.
• LyondellBasell's stock missed earnings estimates in its latest quarterly report, with earnings per share at $0.62, falling short of the expected $0.87, while revenue decreased by 11.8% year-over-year.

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 6.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,334 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,102 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $8,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 16,123 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 0.3% during the first quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 70,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,932,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Forza Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 1.6% during the first quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $894,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. increased its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 1.1% during the first quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 18,428 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC increased its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 2.5% during the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 8,297 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $584,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LYB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Argus downgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $49.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $64.00 to $54.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.08.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

Shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock traded down $0.27 on Friday, reaching $55.20. 4,852,376 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,892,281. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has a 52 week low of $47.55 and a 52 week high of $97.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $57.37 and a 200 day moving average of $60.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.76 billion, a PE ratio of 71.69 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last released its 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). LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 0.74% and a return on equity of 9.35%. The company had revenue of $7.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.24 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. LyondellBasell Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 711.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LyondellBasell Industries

In other news, CEO Peter Z. E. Vanacker sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 160,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,590,003.07. This represents a 11.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.