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

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

Several other analysts have also issued reports on LXU. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Lsb Industries from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lsb Industries from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Lsb Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Lsb Industries from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Lsb Industries from $9.75 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lsb Industries presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.83.

Lsb Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LXU opened at $14.90 on Monday. Lsb Industries has a 12 month low of $4.88 and a 12 month high of $17.22. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.83 and a beta of 0.48.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $165.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $153.88 million. Lsb Industries had a net margin of 4.00% and a return on equity of 4.90%. Analysts expect that Lsb Industries will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lsb Industries news, SVP Kristy Carver sold 19,550 shares of Lsb Industries 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 directly owned 52,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $525,603.87. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Also, CFO Cheryl Maguire sold 7,551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $75,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 200,719 shares in the company, valued at $2,007,190. The trade was a 3.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 387,113 shares of company stock valued at $3,731,647 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Lsb Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Lsb Industries by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 313,048 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,661,000 after purchasing an additional 68,178 shares during the period. VARCOV Co. purchased a new position in shares of Lsb Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $184,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL increased 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 purchasing an additional 292,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in Lsb Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $167,000. 73.67% of the stock is currently 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.