LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded LyondellBasell to a Buy from Hold, while several analysts raised price targets (Citigroup to $90); however MarketBeat's consensus rating remains a Hold with a $73 target.
• Q1 results showed an EPS beat of $0.49 vs. $0.31 consensus, but revenue missed at $7.20B (vs. $7.53B) and the company reported a negative net margin of -2.46%, with pricing gains and Middle East supply disruptions partly offsetting weaker volumes.
• LyondellBasell completed the sale of select European olefins and polyolefins assets to AEQUITA to simplify operations and potentially free cash, while a major shareholder sold ~384,548 shares and institutional investors own about 71.2% of the stock.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on LYB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $52.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $68.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $70.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $73.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, LyondellBasell Industries presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.00.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Up 0.5%

LyondellBasell Industries stock opened at $74.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.17, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.20. LyondellBasell Industries has a 1 year low of $41.58 and a 1 year high of $83.94. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $70.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.53.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.53 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a negative net margin of 2.46% and a positive return on equity of 4.93%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that LyondellBasell Industries will post 5.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $26,199,255.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,270,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at $359,107,643.34. The trade was a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,965,458 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,518,546,000 after buying an additional 84,251 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,544,711 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $586,486,000 after buying an additional 361,761 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,102,068 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $437,420,000 after buying an additional 399,130 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,843,930 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $426,242,000 after purchasing an additional 36,187 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 108.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,159,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $396,615,000 after purchasing an additional 4,770,260 shares during the period. 71.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key LyondellBasell Industries News

Here are the key news stories impacting LyondellBasell Industries this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 EPS topped expectations — LYB reported $0.49 EPS vs. the $0.31 consensus, driven by pricing gains and cost management; the beat is the primary catalyst for the stock lift. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Supply disruptions in the Middle East tightened markets and supported pricing for polymers, helping margins and offsetting weaker volumes. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Completed sale of select European olefins and polyolefins assets to AEQUITA — a strategic step that can simplify operations and potentially free cash/redirect capital. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue missed estimates — Q1 revenue was $7.20B vs. the $7.53B consensus and was down ~6.3% year‑over‑year, reflecting volume pressures even as pricing improved. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary is mixed — positive EPS surprise and pricing offset by higher feedstock costs and uneven segment performance, so near-term outlook depends on feedstock/volume trends. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability metrics remain mixed — the company reported a negative net margin (-2.46%) despite the EPS beat, suggesting non-operating items, inventory effects or restructuring costs are weighing on reported margins. Article Title

About LyondellBasell Industries

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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