LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Stock Price Up 1.4% – Still a Buy?

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)’s stock price traded up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $61.69 and last traded at $60.96. 1,620,945 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 2,809,613 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Fermium Researc upgraded LyondellBasell Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down from $80.00) on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a report on Friday, April 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $51.00 price target (down previously from $76.00) on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $66.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.75.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $57.65 and a 200-day moving average of $68.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.82.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.03). LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 15.97% and a net margin of 3.39%. The business had revenue of $7.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This is a positive change from LyondellBasell Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.12%. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 169.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 16,965,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,260,052,000 after acquiring an additional 851,365 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,239,562 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $650,465,000 after purchasing an additional 657,443 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,804,205 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $512,913,000 after buying an additional 199,054 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,432,552 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $452,852,000 after buying an additional 606,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 12.7% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 4,744,239 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $333,994,000 after buying an additional 534,456 shares during the period. 71.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.