LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $75.29, but opened at $70.12. LyondellBasell Industries shares last traded at $67.0990, with a volume of 1,216,704 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LYB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Vertical Research raised shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $52.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, LyondellBasell Industries presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.06.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $21.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $67.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 21st. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $7.09 billion during the quarter. LyondellBasell Industries had a negative net margin of 2.46% and a positive return on equity of 4.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 EPS for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently -118.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LyondellBasell Industries

In other news, major shareholder Ai Investments Holdings Llc sold 384,548 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.13, for a total value of $26,199,255.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,270,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $359,107,643.34. This represents a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LYB. Stance Capital LLC bought a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 140.3% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 668 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 960.0% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 689 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the period. Finally, United Community Bank increased its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 83.2% during the third quarter. United Community Bank now owns 623 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the period. 71.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LyondellBasell Industries Company Profile

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE: LYB) is a global chemical company headquartered in Houston, Texas, that specializes in the production of polyolefins and advanced polymers. Through its extensive portfolio, the company supplies raw materials for a wide range of end markets, including packaging, automotive, construction, electronics and consumer goods. By combining proprietary process technologies with expertise in catalysts, LyondellBasell aims to deliver value-added solutions that enhance product performance and sustainability.

The company’s integrated operations encompass the manufacture of olefins and polyolefins, advanced polymer products, chemical intermediates and refining activities.