LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $64.61 and last traded at $65.04, with a volume of 1584859 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $70.65.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on LYB. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $75.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays lowered their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $86.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.33.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Down 8.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $18.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $74.48 and a 200 day moving average of $80.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.53). LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 3.39% and a return on equity of 15.97%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 EPS for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.24%. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 129.47%.

Insider Transactions at LyondellBasell Industries

In other news, Director Michael Sean Hanley bought 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $72.05 per share, for a total transaction of $270,187.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,154,817.40. This trade represents a 30.54 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of LyondellBasell Industries

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 346 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 268.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 405 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 84.9% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 466 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 107.6% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 548 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.