LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $80.26, but opened at $72.64. LyondellBasell Industries shares last traded at $69.2730, with a volume of 4,120,954 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LYB. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $62.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of LyondellBasell Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $38.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LyondellBasell Industries currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.17.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $23.15 billion, a PE ratio of -30.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company’s 50 day moving average is $64.77 and its 200-day moving average is $52.85.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 21st. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. LyondellBasell Industries had a positive return on equity of 4.93% and a negative net margin of 2.46%.The firm had revenue of $7.09 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that LyondellBasell Industries N.V. will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -118.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LyondellBasell Industries news, major shareholder Ai Investments Holdings Llc sold 384,548 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.13, for a total transaction of $26,199,255.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,270,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $359,107,643.34. This trade represents a 6.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital A Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 6,314.3% during the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 449 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 140.3% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 668 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LyondellBasell Industries Company Profile

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.