Viking Fund Management LLC Buys 41,500 Shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Viking Fund Management LLC raised its stake in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) by 2,766.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 41,500 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $3,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,202,118 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,170,183,000 after acquiring an additional 230,327 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,023,982 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $769,500,000 after purchasing an additional 362,671 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,605,151 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $638,964,000 after purchasing an additional 277,108 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 3.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,229,416 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $501,501,000 after buying an additional 187,150 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 11.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,875,267 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $268,664,000 after buying an additional 293,622 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

LYB stock opened at $77.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $25.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.83, a P/E/G ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 1.06. LyondellBasell Industries has a one year low of $72.21 and a one year high of $107.02.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $10.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.60 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. On average, analysts predict that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.90%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on LYB shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays cut their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $86.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $110.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $76.06 per share, for a total transaction of $380,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 18,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

LyondellBasell Industries Company Profile

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.