LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Upgraded to "Strong-Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded LyondellBasell Industries to “strong-buy” from “buy,” while broader analyst sentiment remains mixed, with an average “hold” rating and a $72.56 target price.
• LyondellBasell reported quarterly EPS of $4.30, beating estimates of $3.44, while revenue reached $9.18 billion and rose 19.8% year over year.
• Institutional investors own 71.2% of LYB shares, with major firms including BlackRock, State Street and Capital Research increasing their stakes.

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

Several other research firms have also weighed in on LYB. Wells Fargo & Company raised LyondellBasell Industries from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Alembic Global Advisors dropped their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $95.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $77.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $51.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.56.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

Shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock opened at $67.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $21.87 billion, a PE ratio of -59.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.60 and a 200-day moving average of $65.12. LyondellBasell Industries has a 1-year low of $41.58 and a 1-year high of $83.94.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $4.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.86. LyondellBasell Industries had a negative net margin of 1.13% and a positive return on equity of 17.44%. The business had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYB. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 29,298,859 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,542,585,000 after purchasing an additional 4,185,571 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,102,068 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $437,420,000 after buying an additional 399,130 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 0.4% in 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 buying an additional 36,187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 4,770,260 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.20% of the company's stock.

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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