LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB) Shares Purchased by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB) by 326.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,598 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $1,618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the first quarter worth about $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 352.3% in the first quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 398 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 84.9% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 466 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 107.6% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 548 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LYB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus downgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $81.00 to $65.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $65.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $58.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down from $80.00) on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LyondellBasell Industries has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.00.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Up 1.5%

LYB opened at $63.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.36 billion, a PE ratio of 19.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $59.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.04. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has a 12-month low of $51.11 and a 12-month high of $100.46.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.33 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 13.19% and a net margin of 2.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.65%. This is a boost from LyondellBasell Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 169.14%.

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.