LyondellBasell Industries’ (LYB) “Sell” Rating Reaffirmed at UBS Group

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)‘s stock had its “sell” rating restated by research analysts at UBS Group in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $51.00 target price on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $76.00. UBS Group’s price objective points to a potential downside of 12.04% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com downgraded LyondellBasell Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down from $80.00) on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.25.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Down 8.1 %

LyondellBasell Industries stock opened at $57.98 on Monday. LyondellBasell Industries has a 12-month low of $55.45 and a 12-month high of $107.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.14.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.53). LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 3.39% and a return on equity of 15.97%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at LyondellBasell Industries

In other LyondellBasell Industries news, Director Michael Sean Hanley bought 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $72.05 per share, with a total value of $270,187.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 16,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,154,817.40. This represents a 30.54 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 3.7% during 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 last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 202.4% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $964,000 after buying an additional 8,691 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 271,626 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $20,174,000 after buying an additional 20,310 shares during the period. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $503,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,973 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 3,958 shares during the period. 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.