LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Hits New 1-Year Low - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• LyondellBasell Industries shares have hit a new 52-week low, trading as low as $47.53 amid a larger market trend, with analysts providing downgrades on target prices.
• The company reported earnings per share of $0.62 for the last quarter, significantly below the consensus estimate of $0.87, while revenue fell 11.8% from the previous year.
• LyondellBasell recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, resulting in a notable dividend yield of 11.5%, despite a high payout ratio of 711.69%.

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $47.53 and last traded at $47.72, with a volume of 1407163 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $48.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LYB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised LyondellBasell Industries from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Bank Of America (Bofa) lowered their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $56.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho lowered their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $62.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $53.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LyondellBasell Industries has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.07.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Down 2.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $15.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.96 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.39.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $2.24 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 EPS for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.5%. LyondellBasell Industries's payout ratio is presently 711.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LyondellBasell Industries

In other news, CEO Peter Z. E. Vanacker sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total transaction of $1,071,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 160,351 shares in the company, valued at $8,590,003.07. The trade was a 11.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dodge & Cox increased its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 0.4% in the second quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 16,969,997 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $981,884,000 after purchasing an additional 73,965 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 4.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,915,151 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $747,271,000 after purchasing an additional 514,057 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 2.6% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,476,600 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $548,316,000 after purchasing an additional 237,038 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 0.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,824,462 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $395,486,000 after acquiring an additional 24,161 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 10.4% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,432,552 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $452,852,000 after acquiring an additional 606,234 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.20% of the company's stock.

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.

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