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

Key Points

• LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" from 22 brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of about $76.59.
• The company recently reported Q1 earnings of $0.49 per share, beating expectations, but revenue came in below estimates at $7.20 billion and was down 6.3% year over year.
• LyondellBasell also cut its quarterly dividend to $0.69 per share, implying an annualized yield of 3.8%; meanwhile, one major shareholder sold a large block of shares and institutional ownership remains high at 71.2%.

Shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-two brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $76.5882.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LYB. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $52.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $38.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Monday, April 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd.

Insider Transactions at LyondellBasell Industries

In other LyondellBasell Industries news, major shareholder Ai Investments Holdings Llc sold 384,548 shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.13, for a total value of $26,199,255.24. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,270,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,107,643.34. The trade was a 6.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of LyondellBasell Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 57.8% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 201,175 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $16,207,000 after acquiring an additional 73,687 shares during the last quarter. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS bought a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries in the 1st quarter valued at $358,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries in the 1st quarter valued at $223,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries in the 1st quarter valued at $373,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,641 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $535,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Up 0.4%

LYB opened at $71.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.54. LyondellBasell Industries has a fifty-two week low of $41.58 and a fifty-two week high of $83.94. The firm's fifty day moving average is $71.69 and its 200 day moving average is $56.25. The stock has a market cap of $23.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.32.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.18. LyondellBasell Industries had a negative net margin of 2.68% and a positive return on equity of 5.68%. The company had revenue of $7.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. LyondellBasell Industries's revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries will post 8.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. LyondellBasell Industries's payout ratio is currently -110.84%.

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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