Wall Street Zen Upgrades Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU) to Strong-Buy

Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on LXU. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Lsb Industries from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lsb Industries from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Lsb Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Lsb Industries from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Lsb Industries from $9.75 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.17.

Lsb Industries Trading Down 4.2%

NYSE LXU opened at $14.38 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 2.61 and a current ratio of 2.78. The company has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.28 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.11. Lsb Industries has a one year low of $4.88 and a one year high of $17.22.

Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The conglomerate reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.04. Lsb Industries had a net margin of 4.00% and a return on equity of 4.90%. The business had revenue of $165.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $153.88 million. Equities analysts forecast that Lsb Industries will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Lsb Industries

In related news, Director Barry H. Golsen sold 118,953 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.19, for a total transaction of $1,093,178.07. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 96,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $889,343.87. This represents a 55.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Cheryl Maguire sold 7,551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $75,510.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 200,719 shares in the company, valued at $2,007,190. This represents a 3.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 387,113 shares of company stock valued at $3,731,647 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Lsb Industries by 104.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 365,601 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,881,000 after buying an additional 187,108 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Lsb Industries by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,990,812 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $15,688,000 after buying an additional 109,944 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in Lsb Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at about $650,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Lsb Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Lsb Industries by 2,900.0% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,500 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 4,350 shares in the last quarter. 73.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lsb Industries Company Profile

LSB Industries, Inc (NYSE: LXU) is an Oklahoma City–based manufacturer of chemical products serving the agricultural, industrial and defense markets. The company operates primarily through two segments: Fertilizer Solutions and Commodities Solutions. Through its Fertilizer Solutions segment, LSB produces primary nitrogen products—including anhydrous ammonia and technical-grade ammonium nitrate—that are sold to fertilizer distributors and agricultural retailers across North America. Its Commodities Solutions segment manufactures and sells nitric acid, sodium nitrate and other nitrate-based compounds for industrial applications such as mining, water treatment and specialty chemical production, as well as defense-related formulations used in munitions and pyrotechnics.

Incorporated in 1969, LSB Industries has grown from a single production site to multiple manufacturing facilities strategically located in the central United States.