LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Stock Price Down 5.9% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• LYB fell 5.9% on Wednesday to about $75.80, trading roughly 4.58 million shares that day (down ~42% versus its average daily volume).
• Wall Street is mixed but cautious: the consensus rating is "Hold" with an average price target of $66.56 (1 Strong Buy, 5 Buy, 14 Hold, 3 Sell).
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of -$0.26 and a negative net margin; it paid a $0.69 quarterly dividend (3.7% yield) but has a -118% payout ratio, and a major shareholder recently sold 384,548 shares.

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 5.9% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $76.07 and last traded at $75.80. Approximately 4,577,478 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 7,910,929 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LYB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $51.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. KeyCorp upgraded LyondellBasell Industries from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $73.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded LyondellBasell Industries from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.56.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

The business's 50-day simple moving average is $61.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.93. The company has a market capitalization of $24.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

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

LyondellBasell Industries Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Activity at LyondellBasell Industries

In other news, major shareholder Ai Investments Holdings Llc sold 384,548 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider owned 5,270,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $359,107,643.34. The trade was a 6.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EMC Capital Management grew its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 2,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Flax Pond Capital LLC bought a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,494,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Virtu Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 212.7% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 93,876 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,065,000 after buying an additional 63,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. 71.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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