Park Avenue Securities LLC Reduces Holdings in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Park Avenue Securities LLC decreased its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 20,846 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,124 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $1,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LYB. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 5.8% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 76,294 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,298,000 after purchasing an additional 4,206 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 6.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 26,479 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 10.4% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 131,089 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $12,603,000 after purchasing an additional 12,301 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the second quarter worth about $237,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 18.6% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 40,930 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,916,000 after buying an additional 6,425 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

LYB stock opened at $77.35 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $77.63 and a 200-day moving average of $88.46. The company has a market cap of $25.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. LyondellBasell Industries has a 12-month low of $72.21 and a 12-month high of $107.02.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.98 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $10.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.60 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 5.29%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.93%. LyondellBasell Industries’s payout ratio is 81.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LyondellBasell Industries

In related news, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $76.06 per share, for a total transaction of $380,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 18,175 shares in the company, valued at $1,382,390.50. This represents a 37.95 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LYB. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $104.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $94.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $86.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $110.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LyondellBasell Industries presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.33.

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.