LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.17 EPS

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.17, RTT News reports. The firm had revenue of $9.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.70 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 5.16% and a return on equity of 21.89%. LyondellBasell Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

LyondellBasell Industries stock traded up $2.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $102.25. 1,464,864 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,910,965. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.19. LyondellBasell Industries has a 12 month low of $84.80 and a 12 month high of $106.69. The business’s 50-day moving average is $100.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.41.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.89%. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 77.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Chukwuemeka A. Oyolu sold 7,084 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.47, for a total transaction of $711,729.48. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,770,460.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other LyondellBasell Industries news, CFO Michael C. Mcmurray sold 16,940 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.84, for a total value of $1,708,229.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,960,440.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Chukwuemeka A. Oyolu sold 7,084 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.47, for a total transaction of $711,729.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,575 shares in the company, valued at $2,770,460.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 80,853 shares of company stock valued at $8,077,267. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LYB shares. Vertical Research upgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $105.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LyondellBasell Industries currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.82.

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.