LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Reaches New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $52.00 to $50.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. LyondellBasell Industries traded as low as $44.76 and last traded at $44.74, with a volume of 2700825 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $46.27.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on LYB. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $64.00 to $54.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 12th. UBS Group decreased their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Mizuho set a $52.00 target price on LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Monday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $58.00 to $53.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Peter Z. E. Vanacker sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total transaction of $1,071,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 160,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,590,003.07. This represents a 11.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LYB. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 69.1% during the second quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 249,852 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $14,456,000 after acquiring an additional 102,140 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 1.1% during the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 19,950 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 166.2% in the first quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 237,831 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $16,743,000 after acquiring an additional 148,500 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 98.6% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 3,773 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 1,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 44.3% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 14,474 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,019,000 after purchasing an additional 4,442 shares in the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Down 3.0%

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $50.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $14.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.24 and a beta of 0.87.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.21. LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 0.74% and a return on equity of 9.35%. The firm had revenue of $7.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.