LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Rating Increased to Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) was upgraded by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $68.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $38.00. BMO Capital Markets’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 1.60% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Evercore cut their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $65.00 to $57.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $54.00.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Up 8.1%

NYSE LYB traded up $5.01 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $66.93. 1,480,275 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,620,450. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.77. The company has a market capitalization of $21.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50-day moving average is $51.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.59. LyondellBasell Industries has a one year low of $41.58 and a one year high of $78.41.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.44). LyondellBasell Industries had a negative net margin of 2.46% and a positive return on equity of 4.93%. The company had revenue of $7.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of LyondellBasell Industries

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Virtu Financial LLC increased its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 212.7% in the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 93,876 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,065,000 after purchasing an additional 63,854 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 12,112 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 3,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,814 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 973 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

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.