LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other brokerages have also commented on LYB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $94.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $95.00 price objective (down previously from $112.00) on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $104.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.73.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

NYSE:LYB traded down $0.89 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $73.01. The stock had a trading volume of 1,866,935 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,862,582. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.25. LyondellBasell Industries has a one year low of $72.21 and a one year high of $107.02.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.98 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $10.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.60 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 17.05%. LyondellBasell Industries’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.46 EPS. Research analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries will post 7.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at LyondellBasell Industries

In other news, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $76.06 per share, with a total value of $380,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,175 shares in the company, valued at $1,382,390.50. This represents a 37.95 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 211.9% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,283,163 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $123,055,000 after purchasing an additional 871,708 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 13.6% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,828,869 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $461,930,000 after acquiring an additional 579,300 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 4.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,023,982 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $769,500,000 after acquiring an additional 362,671 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 80.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 779,040 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $74,523,000 after purchasing an additional 347,877 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,875,267 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $268,664,000 after purchasing an additional 293,622 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

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.