Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB) by 315.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,763 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 69,671 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $6,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LYB. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 207.8% during the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 2,254,589 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $167,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522,043 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $81,015,000. Dodge & Cox increased its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 16,965,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,260,052,000 after buying an additional 851,365 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 35.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,870,666 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $213,204,000 after acquiring an additional 757,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,826,318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $432,721,000 after acquiring an additional 694,055 shares in the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $72.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup lowered their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $58.00 to $56.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.00.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

Shares of LYB opened at $64.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has a 12 month low of $51.11 and a 12 month high of $100.46. The company’s fifty day moving average is $59.95 and its 200-day moving average is $65.81. The firm has a market cap of $20.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 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 13.19% and a net margin of 2.81%. The firm had revenue of $7.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This is a boost from LyondellBasell Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.56%. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 169.14%.

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.