LyondellBasell Industries N.V. $LYB Shares Acquired by Ancora Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors LLC significantly increased its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 1,355.2%, now owning 7,174 shares valued at $505,000, highlighting growing institutional interest in the company.
• In its latest earnings report, LyondellBasell Industries missed analysts' expectations, reporting earnings of $0.62 per share against a consensus estimate of $0.87, while revenue decreased by 11.8% year-over-year.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.37, resulting in a notable annual yield of 10.0%, despite a high payout ratio of 711.69%.

Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 1,355.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,174 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,681 shares during the quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC's holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYB. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 188,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $14,013,000 after purchasing an additional 39,957 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 127.6% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 671,391 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $49,848,000 after purchasing an additional 376,468 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 29,356 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,180,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,446,788 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $107,453,000 after purchasing an additional 401,412 shares during the period. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 207.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,522,043 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.20% of the company's stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LYB opened at $55.04 on Friday. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has a fifty-two week low of $47.55 and a fifty-two week high of $97.60. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $58.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $17.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.48 and a beta of 0.85.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.24 earnings per share. LyondellBasell Industries's revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 EPS for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.0%. LyondellBasell Industries's payout ratio is 711.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LyondellBasell Industries 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 value of $1,071,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 160,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LYB. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $49.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Mizuho boosted their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Bank Of America (Bofa) reduced their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $56.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.08.

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.

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.