LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Trading 7% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB) shot up 7% on Thursday after BMO Capital Markets upgraded the stock from an underperform rating to a market perform rating. BMO Capital Markets now has a $68.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $38.00. LyondellBasell Industries traded as high as $67.80 and last traded at $66.2810. 4,828,641 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 6,667,796 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.92.

LYB has been the subject of several other reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. KeyCorp upgraded LyondellBasell Industries from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $73.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $54.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the second quarter worth $26,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC grew its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 6,314.3% in the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 449 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $21.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.74, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $51.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.44). The firm had revenue of $7.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a positive return on equity of 4.93% and a negative net margin of 2.46%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently -118.45%.

About LyondellBasell Industries

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.