LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus "Hold" on LyondellBasell from 23 brokers (4 sell, 12 hold, 6 buy, 1 strong buy) with an average 1‑year price target of $68.67; notable recent calls include RBC raising its target to $91/outperform and Bank of America keeping an underperform/$55 view.
• A major shareholder, Ai Investments, sold 384,548 shares on March 9 (about $26.2M), trimming its stake by 6.8%; insiders own just 0.14% of the stock while institutional investors hold 71.2%.
• LyondellBasell reported a negative EPS last quarter (−$0.26) but still paid a $0.69 quarterly dividend (annual $2.76, ~3.7% yield); the company trades with a negative P/E, a market cap of about $24.3B, and a 52‑week range of $41.58–$83.94.

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twenty-three analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have issued a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $68.6667.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LYB. UBS Group lifted their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Vertical Research raised LyondellBasell Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $82.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Ai Investments Holdings Llc sold 384,548 shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.13, for a total value of $26,199,255.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,270,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,107,643.34. This trade represents a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hosking Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 33.3% during the third quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 595,587 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $29,208,000 after purchasing an additional 148,673 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 13.1% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,807,743 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $480,972,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135,258 shares in the last quarter. Bruce & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 50.0% during the third quarter. Bruce & Co. Inc. now owns 60,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,942,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 12.8% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 286,067 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $14,029,000 after purchasing an additional 32,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 3.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,006,356 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $49,352,000 after acquiring an additional 33,873 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.20% of the company's stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

LyondellBasell Industries stock opened at $75.41 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $66.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.51. The company has a market capitalization of $24.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.37, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.40. LyondellBasell Industries has a fifty-two week low of $41.58 and a fifty-two week high of $83.94.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 21st. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $7.09 billion during the quarter. LyondellBasell Industries had a negative net margin of 2.46% and a positive return on equity of 4.93%. On average, analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. LyondellBasell Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -118.45%.

LyondellBasell Industries Company Profile

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. NYSE: LYB is a global chemical company headquartered in Houston, Texas, that specializes in the production of polyolefins and advanced polymers. Through its extensive portfolio, the company supplies raw materials for a wide range of end markets, including packaging, automotive, construction, electronics and consumer goods. By combining proprietary process technologies with expertise in catalysts, LyondellBasell aims to deliver value-added solutions that enhance product performance and sustainability.

The company's integrated operations encompass the manufacture of olefins and polyolefins, advanced polymer products, chemical intermediates and refining activities.

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