Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 2.0%, now owning approximately 31.19 million shares valued at around $2.20 billion.
• LyondellBasell Industries reported Q2 earnings of $0.62 per share, missing analyst estimates, with revenues of $7.66 billion, reflecting an 11.8% decline year-over-year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, representing an annualized yield of 11.2% based on a high dividend payout ratio of 711.69%.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its position in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 31,194,687 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 642,087 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.71% of LyondellBasell Industries worth $2,196,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LYB. Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 16,123 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 70,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,932,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $894,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. raised its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 18,428 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.20% of the company's stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

NYSE LYB traded down $0.16 during trading on Thursday, reaching $52.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,680,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,902,435. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has a twelve month low of $47.55 and a twelve month high of $99.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.77. The business's fifty day moving average price is $59.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.88. The firm has a market cap of $16.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.85.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $7.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.58 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 0.74%. The company's revenue was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.24 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend yield of 10.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. LyondellBasell Industries's dividend payout ratio is 711.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on LYB shares. Argus downgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $56.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LyondellBasell Industries presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.