Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

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

Several other analysts have also weighed in on LXU. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $9.75 price objective (up from $9.50) on shares of Lsb Industries in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lsb Industries in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Lsb Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Lsb Industries from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.92.

Lsb Industries Price Performance

Lsb Industries stock opened at $11.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $835.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.14 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Lsb Industries has a 12 month low of $4.88 and a 12 month high of $11.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $9.49 and its 200-day moving average is $8.88.

Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The conglomerate reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $165.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $153.88 million. Lsb Industries had a net margin of 4.00% and a return on equity of 4.95%. Equities research analysts expect that Lsb Industries will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Kristy Carver sold 19,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total transaction of $195,304.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 52,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $525,603.87. This represents a 27.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Barry H. Golsen sold 118,953 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.19, for a total value of $1,093,178.07. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 96,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $889,343.87. This trade represents a 55.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 610,823 shares of company stock worth $5,767,726 in the last quarter. 4.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Lsb Industries by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,916 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 2,692 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Lsb Industries during the 1st quarter worth approximately $697,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lsb Industries by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,261,020 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $9,838,000 after buying an additional 14,313 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Lsb Industries by 22.3% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 178,493 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,392,000 after buying an additional 32,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Lsb Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,412,000. 73.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.