Forsta AP Fonden Raises Stock Position in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Forsta AP Fonden grew its position in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 18.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 159,600 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $11,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 155.9% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 261 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Webster Bank N. A. increased its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 346 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 268.2% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 405 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on LYB shares. StockNews.com cut LyondellBasell Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $104.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $94.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.33.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

LyondellBasell Industries stock opened at $76.04 on Friday. LyondellBasell Industries has a 12-month low of $72.21 and a 12-month high of $107.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $24.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 1.06. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $76.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.49.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.98 by ($0.10). LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 5.29%. The company had revenue of $10.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. LyondellBasell Industries's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. LyondellBasell Industries's payout ratio is currently 81.58%.

Insider Transactions at LyondellBasell Industries

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

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.

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