Eastern Bank Purchases New Stake in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,025 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $98,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the first quarter valued at about $3,686,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 8.4% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 282,374 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,512,000 after acquiring an additional 21,809 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. bought a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the first quarter valued at about $3,607,000. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. bought a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the second quarter worth about $1,416,000. Finally, PGGM Investments boosted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 47.9% during the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 22,148 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,119,000 after buying an additional 7,168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

NYSE:LYB opened at $87.50 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.69. The company has a market cap of $28.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.52, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 2.10. LyondellBasell Industries has a fifty-two week low of $87.41 and a fifty-two week high of $107.02.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.01. LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 18.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. The company had revenue of $10.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. LyondellBasell Industries’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.13%. LyondellBasell Industries’s payout ratio is presently 82.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LYB. Evercore ISI upgraded LyondellBasell Industries to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $112.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $113.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group reduced their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $106.00 to $101.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.33.

LyondellBasell Industries 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.