Traders Purchase Large Volume of Lsb Industries Call Options (NYSE:LXU)

Lsb Industries Inc. (NYSE:LXU) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors acquired 4,882 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 776% compared to the average daily volume of 557 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lsb Industries news, Director Barry H. Golsen sold 118,953 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kristy Carver sold 19,550 shares of the company’s 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 $525,603.87. This represents a 27.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 471,501 shares of company stock valued at $4,493,971 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LXU. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Lsb Industries by 7.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,916 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 2,692 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lsb Industries during the first quarter worth about $697,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lsb Industries by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,261,020 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $9,838,000 after purchasing an additional 14,313 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Lsb Industries by 22.3% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 178,493 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,392,000 after purchasing an additional 32,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lsb Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,412,000. 73.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lsb Industries Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:LXU traded up $0.24 on Friday, hitting $14.20. 1,026,756 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 653,176. Lsb Industries has a 1-year low of $4.88 and a 1-year high of $14.65. The company has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 41.77 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $9.82 and its 200 day moving average is $9.02.

Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU) last posted its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $153.88 million. Lsb Industries had a return on equity of 4.90% and a net margin of 4.00%. Sell-side analysts predict that Lsb Industries will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LXU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research lowered Lsb Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Lsb Industries from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company 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 report on Monday. 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, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $9.75 price target (up from $9.50) on shares of Lsb Industries in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lsb Industries has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.92.

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.