Federated Hermes Inc. Purchases 534,456 Shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 12.7% in the first quarter, acquiring 534,456 shares, which brought its total ownership to approximately 4.74 million shares valued at $334 million.
• LyondellBasell Industries reported earnings of $0.33 per share, falling short of analyst expectations of $0.36, with a revenue decline of 7.6% year-over-year.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.37 per share, yielding 8.71%, but has a payout ratio of 169.14%.

Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 12.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,744,239 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 534,456 shares during the quarter. LyondellBasell Industries accounts for 0.7% of Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 1.48% of LyondellBasell Industries worth $333,994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 39.7% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,702 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 30.3% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 13,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $922,000 after purchasing an additional 3,045 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC increased its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 3.7% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 15,912 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,120,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 7.8% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 65,507 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,612,000 after acquiring an additional 4,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCW Group Inc. increased its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 1.1% in the first quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 18,428 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $72.00 to $62.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Argus cut shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $81.00 to $65.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.00.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LYB traded down $4.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $53.84. 7,655,412 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,763,053. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has a 52 week low of $51.11 and a 52 week high of $99.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.31 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.82. The company's 50 day moving average price is $60.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.50.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $7.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.58 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 13.19%. LyondellBasell Industries's revenue was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.24 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.2%. This is an increase from LyondellBasell Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. LyondellBasell Industries's payout ratio is presently 169.14%.

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.