LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Shares Acquired by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its position in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 30.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,823 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,143 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $2,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,229,416 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $501,501,000 after buying an additional 187,150 shares during the last quarter. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $503,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,760,000. Mariner Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries during the fourth quarter worth $854,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 4,008 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays lowered 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Argus cut shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Fermium Researc upgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $69.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael Sean Hanley bought 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $72.05 per share, with a total value of $270,187.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 16,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,154,817.40. This represents a 30.54% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Down 1.9%

NYSE:LYB traded down $1.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $56.50. 5,852,945 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,708,817. The business's 50-day moving average price is $59.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.87. LyondellBasell Industries has a 1 year low of $51.11 and a 1 year high of $100.46.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $7.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.69 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 3.39% and a return on equity of 15.97%. The business's revenue was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. Analysts predict that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This is an increase from LyondellBasell Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. LyondellBasell Industries's payout ratio is currently 169.14%.

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.