NFJ Investment Group LLC Boosts Stake in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

NFJ Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Free Report) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,879 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,509 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC's holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $2,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LYB. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 948,211 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $90,933,000 after purchasing an additional 64,359 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,733,000. Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,896,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in LyondellBasell Industries during the third quarter valued at $658,000. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 13.1% during the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 21,609 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,072,000 after purchasing an additional 2,498 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on LYB shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down previously from $80.00) on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of LyondellBasell Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $62.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $75.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.50.

Insider Activity at LyondellBasell Industries

In other news, Director Michael Sean Hanley bought 3,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $72.05 per share, for a total transaction of $270,187.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,028 shares in the company, valued at $1,154,817.40. This trade represents a 30.54 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

LYB stock traded up $1.30 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $57.60. The company had a trading volume of 696,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,405,590. The firm has a market cap of $18.59 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $69.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.69. LyondellBasell Industries has a 1-year low of $51.11 and a 1-year high of $107.02.

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 quarter last year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.31%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. LyondellBasell Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 129.47%.

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.