Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP Makes New Investment in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP purchased a new position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 599,602 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,327,000. LyondellBasell Industries accounts for 6.0% of Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYB. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 505.7% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 90,352 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,241,000 after acquiring an additional 75,435 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 60,613 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,197,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 19,819 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,027,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 135,037 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $13,812,000 after acquiring an additional 4,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 348,692 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $35,665,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583 shares in the last quarter. 71.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE LYB traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $98.26. 1,152,115 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,780,610. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 2.12. LyondellBasell Industries has a twelve month low of $88.46 and a twelve month high of $107.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.04.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.17. LyondellBasell Industries had a net margin of 5.20% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The company had revenue of $9.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that LyondellBasell Industries will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

LyondellBasell Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.45%. This is an increase from LyondellBasell Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. LyondellBasell Industries’s payout ratio is presently 82.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LYB. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $106.00 to $101.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $107.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.17.

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.