Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 17,598 Shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 326.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,598 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $1,618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 1.1% in the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 19,950 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,405,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 56.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,015 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 28.3% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 9,168 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 2,021 shares during the last quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc raised its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 28.1% during the 1st quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 29,019 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,043,000 after purchasing an additional 6,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries during the 1st quarter worth about $442,000. Institutional investors own 71.20% of the company's stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:LYB traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $63.21. 2,229,260 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,000,330. The business's 50-day moving average price is $59.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.82. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has a 12 month low of $51.11 and a 12 month high of $100.46.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $7.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 13.19% and a net margin of 2.81%. LyondellBasell Industries's revenue was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. Analysts predict that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from LyondellBasell Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.67%. LyondellBasell Industries's payout ratio is 169.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on LYB shares. Bank Of America (Bofa) lowered their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $56.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, June 30th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered LyondellBasell Industries from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $66.00.

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.