Empirical Finance LLC Takes Position in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Empirical Finance LLC acquired a new position in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,620 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $417,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LYB. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,038,687 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $99,557,000 after buying an additional 159,803 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 3.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,229,416 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $501,501,000 after purchasing an additional 187,150 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 61,897 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $5,936,000 after acquiring an additional 11,610 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 202.4% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $964,000 after purchasing an additional 8,691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 271,626 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $20,174,000 after acquiring an additional 20,310 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on LYB. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $95.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $86.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LyondellBasell Industries has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $88.25.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of LYB traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $76.74. 1,481,277 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,739,539. LyondellBasell Industries has a fifty-two week low of $72.21 and a fifty-two week high of $107.02. The stock's 50-day moving average is $75.60 and its 200-day moving average is $85.85. The company has a market cap of $24.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.83.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.53). LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 3.39% and a return on equity of 15.97%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. LyondellBasell Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 129.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $76.06 per share, for a total transaction of $380,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 18,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,382,390.50. This trade represents a 37.95 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

About LyondellBasell Industries

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.