LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Downgraded to "Hold" Rating by Argus

Argus downgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $51.00 price target (down from $76.00) on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 target price (down from $80.00) on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $69.75.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Up 2.5%

LYB stock traded up $1.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $55.82. 1,753,379 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,714,205. LyondellBasell Industries has a 12 month low of $51.11 and a 12 month high of $100.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.23. The company has a market capitalization of $17.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.83.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 15.97% and a net margin of 3.39%. The firm had revenue of $7.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.82%. This is a boost from LyondellBasell Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. LyondellBasell Industries's payout ratio is presently 169.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael Sean Hanley bought 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $72.05 per share, for a total transaction of $270,187.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 16,028 shares in the company, valued at $1,154,817.40. This represents a 30.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of LyondellBasell Industries

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 16,965,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,260,052,000 after buying an additional 851,365 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,804,205 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $512,913,000 after buying an additional 199,054 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,432,552 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $452,852,000 after buying an additional 606,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,229,416 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $501,501,000 after buying an additional 187,150 shares in the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.