LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $87.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. LyondellBasell Industries traded as high as $83.86 and last traded at $82.4840, with a volume of 8203950 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $80.45.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on LYB. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of LyondellBasell Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $73.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $52.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Ai Investments Holdings Llc sold 384,548 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.13, for a total value of $26,199,255.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,270,918 shares in the company, valued at $359,107,643.34. The trade was a 6.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Stance Capital LLC bought a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries in the third quarter worth $27,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries in the third quarter worth $29,000. Finally, United Community Bank boosted its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 83.2% during the third quarter. United Community Bank now owns 623 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. 71.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Up 2.5%

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $61.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.40, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last released its earnings results on Saturday, February 21st. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $7.09 billion during the quarter. LyondellBasell Industries had a negative net margin of 2.46% and a positive return on equity of 4.93%. As a group, research analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. LyondellBasell Industries’s payout ratio is presently -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.