LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) to Issue Dividend Increase - $1.37 Per Share

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, May 23rd, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of 1.37 per share by the specialty chemicals company on Monday, June 9th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.73%. This is a 2.2% increase from LyondellBasell Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $1.34.

LyondellBasell Industries has increased its dividend by an average of 5.9% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 13 consecutive years. LyondellBasell Industries has a dividend payout ratio of 86.7% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings tumble. Equities analysts expect LyondellBasell Industries to earn $7.96 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 67.3%.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LYB opened at $56.30 on Friday. LyondellBasell Industries has a twelve month low of $51.11 and a twelve month high of $100.46. The stock's 50 day moving average is $61.01 and its 200-day moving average is $71.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.87.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 3.39% and a return on equity of 15.97%. The business had revenue of $7.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at LyondellBasell Industries

In other news, Director Michael Sean Hanley bought 3,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $72.05 per share, with a total value of $270,187.50. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in LyondellBasell Industries stock. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 40.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,899 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,297 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $1,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LYB shares. Fermium Researc upgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $71.00 to $65.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered LyondellBasell Industries from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down from $80.00) on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a report on Friday, April 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LyondellBasell Industries has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $69.75.

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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