Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Lsb Industries Inc. (NYSE:LXU) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $12.71 and last traded at $12.66, with a volume of 1374792 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Lsb Industries Trading Down 3.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 2.61. The stock has a market cap of $965.66 million, a P/E ratio of 39.53 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.06.

Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The conglomerate reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $153.88 million. On average, analysts expect that Lsb Industries Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Lsb Industries

In other news, SVP Kristy Carver sold 19,550 shares of Lsb Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total value of $195,304.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 52,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $525,603.87. The trade was a 27.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Cheryl Maguire sold 7,551 shares of Lsb Industries stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $75,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 200,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,007,190. The trade was a 3.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 471,501 shares of company stock valued at $4,493,971. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lsb Industries during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 4,350 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Lsb Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Lsb Industries by 90.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,019 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 2,856 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Lsb Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $94,000. Institutional investors own 73.67% of the company’s stock.

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.