Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Key Points

• Unusual bearish options activity: Investors purchased 18,011 put options on LyondellBasell, roughly 291% above the typical volume of 4,605 contracts.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Price targets were raised by several firms, but ratings range from Strong Buy to Sell. The stock carries a consensus “Hold” rating and an average target price of $72.41.
• Shares and fundamentals: LYB fell to $64.57, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $4.30, exceeding estimates of $3.44. It also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.69, equivalent to a 4.3% annual yield.

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 18,011 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 291% compared to the typical volume of 4,605 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LYB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered LyondellBasell Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 5th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.41.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Core Capital Management & Research inc. acquired a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries during the 2nd quarter worth about $189,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 112.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,460 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 10,837 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 244.8% during the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 134,133 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $7,062,000 after acquiring an additional 95,236 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 158.6% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 341,172 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $17,963,000 after purchasing an additional 209,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,996 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.20% of the company's stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

Shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock traded down $0.86 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $64.57. 1,154,355 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,159,952. LyondellBasell Industries has a 12 month low of $41.58 and a 12 month high of $83.94. The stock has a market cap of $20.86 billion, a PE ratio of -57.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.31. The stock's fifty day moving average is $62.13 and its 200 day moving average is $66.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.64.

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

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th were issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 24th. LyondellBasell Industries's payout ratio is presently -244.25%.

About LyondellBasell Industries

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. NYSE: LYB is a global chemical company that produces plastics, chemicals and refined products used in packaging, transportation, construction, healthcare, electronics and other consumer and industrial applications. Its portfolio includes polyethylene, polypropylene, propylene oxide, oxyfuels, acetyls and other intermediate chemicals, as well as advanced polymer compounds and solutions.

The company operates across the petrochemical value chain, converting hydrocarbon feedstocks into materials and specialty products.

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