Moore Capital Management LP Buys Shares of 127,697 LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Moore Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 127,697 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $9,484,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 3.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,229,416 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $501,501,000 after purchasing an additional 187,150 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 202.4% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $964,000 after buying an additional 8,691 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 271,626 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $20,174,000 after acquiring an additional 20,310 shares during the period. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC bought a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $503,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,973 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 3,958 shares during the period. 71.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael Sean Hanley purchased 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $72.05 per share, for a total transaction of $270,187.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,154,817.40. The trade was a 30.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LYB traded down $0.73 during trading on Thursday, hitting $58.44. The company had a trading volume of 3,317,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,598,255. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. LyondellBasell Industries has a fifty-two week low of $51.11 and a fifty-two week high of $101.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.96.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $7.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.69 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 15.97% and a net margin of 3.39%. LyondellBasell Industries's quarterly revenue was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.17%. LyondellBasell Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 165.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on LYB. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $81.00 to $65.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $71.00 to $65.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $72.00 to $62.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered LyondellBasell Industries from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.