Lsb Industries Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:LXU)

Lsb Industries Inc. (NYSE:LXU) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders bought 4,882 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 776% compared to the typical volume of 557 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lsb Industries

In other news, SVP Kristy Carver sold 19,550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total value of $195,304.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 52,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $525,603.87. This trade represents a 27.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Barry H. Golsen sold 118,953 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.19, for a total transaction of $1,093,178.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 96,773 shares in the company, valued at $889,343.87. The trade was a 55.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 471,501 shares of company stock valued at $4,493,971. Insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lsb Industries

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LXU. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lsb Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Lsb Industries by 2,900.0% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,500 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 4,350 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Lsb Industries during the third quarter valued at $42,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Lsb Industries by 90.3% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,019 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Lsb Industries during the fourth quarter worth $97,000. 73.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lsb Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Lsb Industries from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $9.75 price objective (up from $9.50) on shares of Lsb Industries in a report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lsb Industries from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lsb Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.92.

Lsb Industries Price Performance

LXU stock opened at $13.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $965.66 million, a P/E ratio of 39.53 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 2.61 and a current ratio of 2.78. Lsb Industries has a 1 year low of $4.88 and a 1 year high of $14.65. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.06.

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

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.