Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Lsb Industries from a "hold" to a buy, though the consensus analyst rating remains "Hold" with an average target price of $14.83 while the stock trades around $16.28 near its 12‑month high.
• The company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results with EPS of $0.22 vs. $0.18 est. and revenue of $165.05M vs. $153.88M, yet sell‑side analysts still forecast -$0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Insiders have been net sellers—387,113 shares worth $3.73M sold in the last 90 days—while institutional investors own about 73.7% of the stock.

Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Lsb Industries from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Zacks Research cut Lsb Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Lsb Industries from $9.75 to $16.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Lsb Industries from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lsb Industries from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $14.83.

Lsb Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LXU opened at $16.28 on Friday. Lsb Industries has a 12 month low of $4.88 and a 12 month high of $17.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.88 and a beta of 0.66. 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 company's fifty day moving average price is $11.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.76.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 transaction of $195,304.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 52,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $525,603.87. This trade represents 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 available through this link. Also, Director Barry H. Golsen sold 17,813 shares of Lsb Industries stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.04, for a total transaction of $178,842.52. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 387,113 shares of company stock valued at $3,731,647. 4.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lsb Industries

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Lsb Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $97,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Lsb Industries by 27.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. VARCOV Co. acquired a new stake in Lsb Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $184,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted 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. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in Lsb Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $167,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.67% of the company's stock.

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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