Banco Santander S.A. Acquires 33,024 Shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB)

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. increased its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 85.9%, owning 71,474 shares valued at approximately $5.03 million.
• Research analysts have given LyondellBasell Industries an average rating of "Hold" with a price target of $66.00, despite some downgrades from firms like Wall Street Zen.
• LyondellBasell recently reported an earnings miss with $0.62 EPS for the quarter, compared to an expected $0.87 EPS, and announced a dividend increase to $1.37 per share.

Banco Santander S.A. boosted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 85.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 71,474 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 33,024 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $5,032,000 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. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 19,950 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 166.2% in the first quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 237,831 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $16,743,000 after purchasing an additional 148,500 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 44.3% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 14,474 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,019,000 after purchasing an additional 4,442 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 56.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,015 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 28.3% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 9,168 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 2,021 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.20% of the company's stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock traded up $0.26 on Tuesday, reaching $51.16. 1,176,884 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,809,353. The company has a market capitalization of $16.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.85. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has a 52 week low of $50.77 and a 52 week high of $99.36. The firm's 50-day moving average is $60.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.77.

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

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.7%. LyondellBasell Industries's payout ratio is currently 711.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LYB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Fermium Researc raised shares of LyondellBasell Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays reduced their price target on 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. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $56.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LyondellBasell Industries has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $63.62.

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.