Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

Lsb Industries Inc. (NYSE:LXU) saw strong trading volume on Friday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $11.00 to $15.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the stock. 779,996 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the previous session’s volume of 874,736 shares.The stock last traded at $14.3850 and had previously closed at $15.44.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on LXU. Weiss Ratings raised Lsb Industries from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Lsb Industries from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lsb Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. 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. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Lsb Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lsb Industries has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.94.

Insider Activity at Lsb Industries

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

Institutional Trading of Lsb Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in Lsb Industries in the 4th quarter worth $97,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Lsb Industries by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 313,048 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,661,000 after buying an additional 68,178 shares in the last quarter. VARCOV Co. bought a new position in Lsb Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $184,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its holdings in Lsb Industries by 581.8% in the 4th quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 342,894 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,915,000 after acquiring an additional 292,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Lsb Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $167,000. 73.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lsb Industries Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.92 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.27. 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 (NYSE:LXU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The conglomerate reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $165.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $153.88 million. Lsb Industries had a return on equity of 4.90% and a net margin of 4.00%. On average, equities analysts expect that Lsb Industries Inc. will post -0.18 EPS for the current 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.