LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Stock Rating Lowered by Argus

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) was downgraded by research analysts at Argus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $71.00 to $65.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $81.00 to $65.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Fermium Researc upgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.75.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:LYB opened at $56.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.83. The company has a market cap of $18.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.87. LyondellBasell Industries has a 52 week low of $51.11 and a 52 week high of $100.46. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.51.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $7.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 3.39% and a return on equity of 15.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael Sean Hanley acquired 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $72.05 per share, with a total value of $270,187.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 16,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,154,817.40. This represents a 30.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of LyondellBasell Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LYB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,229,416 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $501,501,000 after purchasing an additional 187,150 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 42.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 159,600 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,853,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $85,000. Finally, Kempner Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $3,511,000. 71.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LyondellBasell Industries Company Profile

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.