Morgan Stanley Lowers LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Price Target to $90.00

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) had its target price reduced by Morgan Stanley from $110.00 to $90.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on LYB. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $95.00 price target (down previously from $112.00) on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $86.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $94.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $104.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, LyondellBasell Industries presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.33.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

Shares of LYB opened at $76.06 on Monday. LyondellBasell Industries has a 52-week low of $72.21 and a 52-week high of $107.02. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 2.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.06.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.98 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $10.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.60 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 17.05%. LyondellBasell Industries’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. Research analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries will post 7.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.05%. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LyondellBasell Industries

In other LyondellBasell Industries news, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $76.06 per share, with a total value of $380,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,382,390.50. This trade represents a 37.95 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LYB. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 211.9% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,283,163 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $123,055,000 after acquiring an additional 871,708 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,828,869 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $461,930,000 after purchasing an additional 579,300 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,023,982 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $769,500,000 after purchasing an additional 362,671 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 80.7% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 779,040 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $74,523,000 after buying an additional 347,877 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 11.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,875,267 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $268,664,000 after buying an additional 293,622 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.