Russell Investments Group Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has reduced its shares in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. by 6.0%, now holding 342,134 shares valued at approximately $24 million.
• Analysts have lowered price targets for LyondellBasell, with major firms like Barclays and Goldman Sachs reducing their targets to between $54.00 and $65.00, reflecting a cautious outlook on the stock.
• The company reported earnings per share of $0.62 in its last quarter, missing estimates and exhibiting a significant decline compared to the previous year's $2.24 EPS, coupled with a quarterly revenue drop of 11.8% year-over-year.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 6.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 342,134 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 21,740 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.11% of LyondellBasell Industries worth $24,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LYB. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 3,502.2% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,015,528 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $141,893,000 after acquiring an additional 1,959,576 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 207.8% in the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 2,254,589 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $167,448,000 after buying an additional 1,522,043 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 137.9% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,760,045 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $123,907,000 after buying an additional 1,020,169 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,239,562 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $650,465,000 after buying an additional 657,443 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries in the 1st quarter valued at about $43,280,000. 71.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on LYB shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $72.00 to $62.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $81.00 to $65.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $64.00 to $54.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut LyondellBasell Industries from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $63.08.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LYB opened at $53.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has a twelve month low of $47.55 and a twelve month high of $99.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $59.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.53. The stock has a market cap of $17.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 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 firm had revenue of $7.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.24 EPS. LyondellBasell Industries's quarterly revenue was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.3%. LyondellBasell Industries's payout ratio is currently 711.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LyondellBasell Industries news, CEO Peter Z. E. Vanacker sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total value of $1,071,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.

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.