LyondellBasell Industries N.V. $LYB Shares Bought by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,103 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $1,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the first quarter worth about $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 352.3% during the first quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 398 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp VA ADV boosted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 177.6% during the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 408 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 84.9% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 466 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the first quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LYB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $49.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Argus cut shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $64.00 to $54.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at LyondellBasell Industries

In related news, CEO Peter Z. E. Vanacker sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total transaction of $1,071,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 160,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,590,003.07. This represents a 11.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Down 0.4%

LYB stock opened at $54.41 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $57.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.77. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has a fifty-two week low of $47.55 and a fifty-two week high of $97.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.66 and a beta of 0.85.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.25). LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 0.74%.The firm had revenue of $7.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.24 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 711.69%.

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.