LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Sets New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as $71.04 and last traded at $71.44, with a volume of 919143 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $72.69.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on LYB. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut LyondellBasell Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.25.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Down 1.9 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $76.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.30. The company has a market cap of $23.07 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.53). LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 15.97% and a net margin of 3.39%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 EPS for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. LyondellBasell Industries’s payout ratio is presently 129.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LyondellBasell Industries

In related news, Director Michael Sean Hanley bought 3,750 shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $72.05 per share, with a total value of $270,187.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 16,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,154,817.40. This represents a 30.54 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LyondellBasell Industries

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LYB. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,432 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 108,009 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $10,358,000 after acquiring an additional 8,331 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 17,297 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,659,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 41,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,026,000 after acquiring an additional 3,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,788 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

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.