LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Hits New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Friday after The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on the stock from $96.00 to $86.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a sell rating on the stock. LyondellBasell Industries traded as low as $75.08 and last traded at $75.28, with a volume of 271652 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.18.

Several other brokerages have also commented on LYB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays lowered their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $110.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $117.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LyondellBasell Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.36.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 57,021 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,468,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 293,622 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 45.1% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 33,308 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,194,000 after purchasing an additional 10,359 shares during the period. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 13.1% in the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 21,609 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,072,000 after buying an additional 2,498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $658,000. 71.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Down 0.7 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $85.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.16. The stock has a market cap of $24.57 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.98 by ($0.10). LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The company had revenue of $10.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries will post 7.02 earnings per share for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.08%. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.58%.

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.