Magnetar Financial LLC Takes $616,000 Position in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. $LYB

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC has purchased a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries N.V., acquiring 8,753 shares valued at approximately $616,000.
• LyondellBasell reported a quarterly EPS of $0.62, missing analysts' estimates by $0.25, while its revenue was $7.66 billion, slightly exceeding expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 9.7%, but has a high dividend payout ratio of 711.69%.

Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,753 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $616,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 352.3% during the 1st quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 398 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV grew its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 177.6% during the 1st quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 408 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 84.9% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 466 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 71.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LYB. Argus lowered shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $49.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. One research 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $63.08.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Up 1.4%

LYB stock traded up $0.74 during trading on Friday, reaching $55.04. The stock had a trading volume of 4,221,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,922,586. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has a one year low of $47.55 and a one year high of $97.60. The company's 50 day moving average is $58.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.50. 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 company has a market capitalization of $17.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.48 and a beta of 0.85.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last posted 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). LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 0.74%.The company had revenue of $7.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.24 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 EPS for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders 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 yield of 10.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. LyondellBasell Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 711.69%.

Insider Activity at LyondellBasell Industries

In related news, CEO Peter Z. E. Vanacker sold 20,000 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 160,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,590,003.07. This represents a 11.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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.