Highland Capital Management LLC Purchases 12,940 Shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. $LYB

Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB) by 29.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 56,545 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,940 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $3,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust lifted its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 16.4% during the second quarter. Crews Bank & Trust now owns 1,245 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 0.3% during the first quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 70,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,932,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 1.6% during the first quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $894,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 4.3% during the second quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 4,830 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCW Group Inc. grew its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 1.1% during the first quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 18,428 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LYB opened at $49.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has a 12 month low of $47.55 and a 12 month high of $96.81. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.93. The stock has a market cap of $15.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.28 and a beta of 0.87.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.25). LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 0.74% and a return on equity of 9.35%. The business had revenue of $7.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. LyondellBasell Industries’s payout ratio is currently 711.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Peter Z. E. Vanacker sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total value of $1,071,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 160,351 shares in the company, valued at $8,590,003.07. The trade was a 11.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on LYB shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 12th. Bank Of America (Bofa) decreased their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $56.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, June 30th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.13.

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.