Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Saturday.

LXU has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lsb Industries in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $9.75 price target (up from $9.50) on shares of Lsb Industries in a report on Monday, January 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Lsb Industries from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research cut 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, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lsb Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.92.

Lsb Industries Price Performance

Shares of LXU opened at $11.61 on Friday. Lsb Industries has a 52 week low of $4.88 and a 52 week high of $11.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.49 and a 200-day moving average of $8.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $835.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.14 and a beta of 0.74.

Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU) last released 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 firm had revenue of $165.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $153.88 million. Lsb Industries had a net margin of 4.00% and a return on equity of 4.95%. As a group, analysts forecast that Lsb Industries will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Cheryl Maguire sold 7,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 200,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,007,190. This trade represents a 3.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kristy Carver sold 19,550 shares of Lsb Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 27.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 610,823 shares of company stock worth $5,767,726 in the last ninety days. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lsb Industries by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 277,355 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,358,000 after buying an additional 1,210 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Lsb Industries by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 89,804 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,616 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Lsb Industries by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 21,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 1,692 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Lsb Industries by 13.4% during the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 16,239 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 1,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Lsb Industries by 21.0% in the third quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 12,354 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 2,148 shares during the last quarter. 73.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lsb Industries

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.