LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $77.37 and last traded at $77.23, with a volume of 4357763 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on LYB. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Fermium Researc upgraded LyondellBasell Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $52.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Vertical Research upgraded LyondellBasell Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.61.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Up 3.7%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market cap of $25.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.64.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last released its earnings results on Saturday, February 21st. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. LyondellBasell Industries had a negative net margin of 2.46% and a positive return on equity of 4.93%. The company had revenue of $7.09 billion during the quarter. As a group, research analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. LyondellBasell Industries’s payout ratio is currently -118.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Ai Investments Holdings Llc sold 384,548 shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.13, for a total value of $26,199,255.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,270,918 shares in the company, valued at $359,107,643.34. The trade was a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LYB. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the second quarter worth approximately $280,000,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 108.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,159,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $396,615,000 after purchasing an additional 4,770,260 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 512.9% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,093,318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $133,941,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588,636 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 5,451.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,457,591 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $63,114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431,334 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,971,741 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $388,476,000 after buying an additional 1,300,271 shares during the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LyondellBasell Industries Company Profile

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE: LYB) is a global chemical company headquartered in Houston, Texas, that specializes in the production of polyolefins and advanced polymers. Through its extensive portfolio, the company supplies raw materials for a wide range of end markets, including packaging, automotive, construction, electronics and consumer goods. By combining proprietary process technologies with expertise in catalysts, LyondellBasell aims to deliver value-added solutions that enhance product performance and sustainability.

The company’s integrated operations encompass the manufacture of olefins and polyolefins, advanced polymer products, chemical intermediates and refining activities.