LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) Competitors

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) and Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) are related large-cap companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, media sentiment, valuation, dividends, risk and profitability.

Which has more risk & volatility, LYB or CAT?

LyondellBasell Industries has a beta of 0.82, meaning that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Caterpillar has a beta of 1.38, meaning that its stock price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is LYB or CAT more profitable?

Caterpillar has a net margin of 15.71% compared to LyondellBasell Industries' net margin of 2.81%. Caterpillar's return on equity of 53.77% beat LyondellBasell Industries' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LyondellBasell Industries	2.81%	13.19%	4.71%
Caterpillar	15.71%	53.77%	11.64%

Which has higher valuation & earnings, LYB or CAT?

Caterpillar has higher revenue and earnings than LyondellBasell Industries. LyondellBasell Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Caterpillar, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LyondellBasell Industries	$40.30B	0.50	$1.37B	$3.24	19.30
Caterpillar	$64.81B	2.89	$10.79B	$20.52	19.40

Does the media favor LYB or CAT?

In the previous week, Caterpillar had 38 more articles in the media than LyondellBasell Industries. MarketBeat recorded 53 mentions for Caterpillar and 15 mentions for LyondellBasell Industries. LyondellBasell Industries' average media sentiment score of 1.29 beat Caterpillar's score of 1.27 indicating that LyondellBasell Industries is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
LyondellBasell Industries	13 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Caterpillar	45 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals and insiders believe in LYB or CAT?

71.2% of LyondellBasell Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.0% of Caterpillar shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of LyondellBasell Industries shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Caterpillar shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is LYB or CAT a better dividend stock?

LyondellBasell Industries pays an annual dividend of $5.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.8%. Caterpillar pays an annual dividend of $5.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. LyondellBasell Industries pays out 169.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Caterpillar pays out 27.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. LyondellBasell Industries has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years and Caterpillar has raised its dividend for 30 consecutive years.

Do analysts recommend LYB or CAT?

LyondellBasell Industries currently has a consensus target price of $69.75, suggesting a potential upside of 11.55%. Caterpillar has a consensus target price of $380.83, suggesting a potential downside of 4.36%. Given LyondellBasell Industries' higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe LyondellBasell Industries is more favorable than Caterpillar.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LyondellBasell Industries	2 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.13
Caterpillar	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.73

Summary

Caterpillar beats LyondellBasell Industries on 15 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.