LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB) Short Interest Down 26.2% in March

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 13,041,765 shares, a decline of 26.2% from the March 15th total of 17,662,343 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,823,378 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days. Approximately 4.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Down 0.1%

LyondellBasell Industries stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $73.19. 5,405,842 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,169,592. The company’s 50-day moving average is $67.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.77. LyondellBasell Industries has a 52-week low of $41.58 and a 52-week high of $83.94. The firm has a market cap of $23.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.41, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 0.40.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 21st. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter. LyondellBasell Industries had a positive return on equity of 4.93% and a negative net margin of 2.46%.The business had revenue of $7.09 billion for the quarter. On average, analysts predict that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is -118.45%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Ai Investments Holdings Llc sold 384,548 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider directly owned 5,270,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $359,107,643.34. The trade was a 6.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of LyondellBasell Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EMC Capital Management boosted its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 2,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Flax Pond Capital LLC purchased a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,494,000. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $4,065,000 after buying an additional 63,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. 71.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LYB has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $82.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $51.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $52.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.78.

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.