LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Short Interest Up 18.2% in March

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,130,000 shares, an increase of 18.2% from the March 15th total of 6,880,000 shares. Currently, 3.2% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,290,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LyondellBasell Industries news, Director Michael Sean Hanley purchased 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $72.05 per share, for a total transaction of $270,187.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 16,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,154,817.40. The trade was a 30.54 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Townsend & Associates Inc raised its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 28.1% in the first quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 29,019 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,043,000 after purchasing an additional 6,371 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 1.5% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 50,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,576,000 after buying an additional 745 shares during the last quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,896 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,049,000 after buying an additional 1,293 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 12.4% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 247,598 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $17,287,000 after acquiring an additional 27,313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Old North State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 20.0% in the first quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 39,217 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,765,000 after buying an additional 6,549 shares during the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LYB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company 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 Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued 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 cut shares of LyondellBasell Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $62.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $84.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $75.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.50.

LyondellBasell Industries Price Performance

NYSE:LYB traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $59.65. 3,508,112 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,497,115. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. LyondellBasell Industries has a 12 month low of $51.11 and a 12 month high of $107.02. The stock has a market cap of $19.26 billion, a PE ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average of $68.06 and a 200 day moving average of $76.19.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $7.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 15.97% and a net margin of 3.39%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.99%. LyondellBasell Industries's dividend payout ratio 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.