Versor Investments LP Boosts Stock Position in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB)

Versor Investments LP lifted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) by 168.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 33,586 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,086 shares during the period. LyondellBasell Industries makes up about 0.4% of Versor Investments LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in LyondellBasell Industries were worth $2,494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYB. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 211.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,283,163 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $123,055,000 after acquiring an additional 871,708 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 4.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,023,982 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $769,500,000 after purchasing an additional 362,671 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 11.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,875,267 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $268,664,000 after purchasing an additional 293,622 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,605,151 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $638,964,000 after buying an additional 277,108 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 947,614 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $70,379,000 after acquiring an additional 270,694 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robin W.T. Buchanan acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $76.06 per share, for a total transaction of $380,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,382,390.50. This represents a 37.95 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LYB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho lowered their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $97.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $96.00 to $86.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.25.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

Shares of LYB opened at $76.14 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.72. The firm has a market cap of $24.73 billion, a PE ratio of 18.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.05. LyondellBasell Industries has a 12-month low of $72.21 and a 12-month high of $107.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) last issued 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 return on equity of 15.97% and a net margin of 3.39%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that LyondellBasell Industries will post 6.31 EPS for the current year.

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.