Lsb Industries Inc. (NYSE:LXU) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 51.7% to 1,967,476 shares as of March 31 (about 2.9% of shares) with a days-to-cover of 0.8, indicating rising bearish bets on LXU.
• LSB beat the quarter with $0.22 EPS versus $0.18 expected and $165.05M revenue, yet shares trade around $13.84 (market cap ≈ $994M) with a consensus analyst target of $15.17 and recent broker price-target raises to the $14–$16.50 range.
• Insiders have sold 211,416 shares in the past 90 days (insiders own 4.7%), while hedge funds and institutions own about 73.7% of the stock and several funds materially increased positions.

Lsb Industries Inc. (NYSE:LXU - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,967,476 shares, an increase of 51.7% from the March 15th total of 1,296,583 shares. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,449,402 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.8 days.

Lsb Industries Stock Down 3.0%

NYSE:LXU traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $13.84. The company had a trading volume of 544,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,266,610. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Lsb Industries has a 1 year low of $4.92 and a 1 year high of $17.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $994.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.50 and a beta of 0.48.

Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The conglomerate reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.04. Lsb Industries had a return on equity of 4.90% and a net margin of 4.00%.The company had revenue of $165.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $153.88 million. Equities analysts forecast that Lsb Industries will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lsb Industries

In other Lsb Industries news, CFO Cheryl Maguire sold 7,551 shares of the 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 owned 200,719 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,007,190. This represents a 3.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kristy Carver sold 19,550 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 52,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $525,603.87. This represents a 27.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 211,416 shares of company stock worth $2,122,098. 4.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LXU. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its position in Lsb Industries by 581.8% in the fourth 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 period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Lsb Industries in the second quarter valued at about $1,694,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Lsb Industries by 104.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 365,601 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,881,000 after purchasing an additional 187,108 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lsb Industries by 301.7% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 205,236 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,745,000 after acquiring an additional 154,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Lsb Industries by 825.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 166,639 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,313,000 after acquiring an additional 148,634 shares in the last quarter. 73.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LXU. Weiss Ratings raised Lsb Industries from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on Lsb Industries from $9.75 to $16.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $14.00 target price (up from $13.00) on shares of Lsb Industries in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Lsb Industries from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Lsb Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $15.17.

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.

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