Lsb Industries Inc. (NYSE:LXU) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Lsb Industries Inc. (NYSE:LXU) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $9.8333.

A number of research analysts recently commented on LXU shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Lsb Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lsb Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $9.50 price objective (up previously from $9.25) on shares of Lsb Industries in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Lsb Industries from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lsb Industries in a research report on Monday, December 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Barry H. Golsen sold 30,072 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.04, for a total value of $271,850.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 156,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,418,864.16. This represents a 16.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 223,710 shares of company stock valued at $2,036,079 in the last three months. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lsb Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Lsb Industries by 1.8% in the second 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 period. First Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Lsb Industries by 13.4% during the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 16,239 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 1,922 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lsb Industries by 21.0% during 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. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in Lsb Industries by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 29,108 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 2,507 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Lsb Industries by 7.4% in the 1st 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.67% of the company’s stock.

Lsb Industries Price Performance

LXU stock opened at $8.62 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $8.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.44. The company has a quick ratio of 2.63, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $620.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -861.90 and a beta of 0.75. Lsb Industries has a fifty-two week low of $4.88 and a fifty-two week high of $9.98.

Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The conglomerate reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $155.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.30 million. Lsb Industries had a negative net margin of 0.11% and a positive return on equity of 2.70%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lsb Industries will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.