Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• UBS raised its price target on LSB from $9.75 to $16.50 (maintaining a neutral rating), helping push trading volume up ~9% and the stock to about $17.09 (roughly a 7% intraday gain).
• Despite multiple target bumps, the Street consensus remains a Hold with an average target of $13.63 (one Buy and four Hold ratings reported).
• Insiders sold 387,113 shares (~$3.73M) over the past 90 days, lowering insider ownership to 4.3%, while institutional investors hold about 73.7% of the stock.

Lsb Industries Inc. (NYSE:LXU - Get Free Report) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $9.75 to $16.50. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. 1,172,487 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 9% from the previous session's volume of 1,078,740 shares.The stock last traded at $17.09 and had previously closed at $15.81.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Lsb Industries from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lsb Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Zacks Research cut Lsb Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Lsb Industries from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $13.63.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Cheryl Maguire sold 7,551 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $75,510.00. Following the sale, 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. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Barry H. Golsen sold 118,953 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.19, for a total transaction of $1,093,178.07. Following the transaction, the director owned 96,773 shares of the company's stock, valued at $889,343.87. This trade represents a 55.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 387,113 shares of company stock worth $3,731,647 over the last 90 days. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Lsb Industries Trading Up 7.0%

The business has a 50-day moving average of $11.36 and a 200 day moving average of $9.64. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 49.74 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.

Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The conglomerate reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.04. The company 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 4.90%. Equities research analysts predict that Lsb Industries Inc. will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal 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.

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