Royal Bank Of Canada Upgrades LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) to Outperform

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on LYB. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research raised LyondellBasell Industries from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded LyondellBasell Industries from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $38.00 to $68.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore reduced their price objective on 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.50.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

Shares of LYB opened at $67.26 on Monday. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $52.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.73. The company has a market cap of $21.67 billion, a PE ratio of -28.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.64. LyondellBasell Industries has a 12-month low of $41.58 and a 12-month high of $78.41.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $280,000,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 108.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,159,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $396,615,000 after acquiring an additional 4,770,260 shares in the last quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC bought a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at about $268,123,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 512.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,093,318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $133,941,000 after acquiring an additional 2,588,636 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 5,451.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,457,591 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $63,114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431,334 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

About LyondellBasell Industries

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.