Lsb Industries Inc. (NYSE:LXU) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Lsb Industries Inc. (NYSE:LXU) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $9.8333.

LXU has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research raised Lsb Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Lsb Industries from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lsb Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $9.50 price target (up previously from $9.25) on shares of Lsb Industries in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Lsb Industries in a research note on Monday.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Barry H. Golsen sold 112,268 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.16, for a total value of $1,028,374.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 241,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,208,897.36. This represents a 31.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 223,710 shares of company stock worth $2,036,079. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LXU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Lsb Industries by 104.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 365,601 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,881,000 after purchasing an additional 187,108 shares during the period. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lsb Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at $573,000. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lsb Industries by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 55,298 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 8,136 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Lsb Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $94,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lsb Industries by 29.6% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 19,881 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 4,545 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.67% of the company’s stock.

Lsb Industries Stock Up 2.3%

NYSE:LXU opened at $8.51 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $612.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -851.00 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 2.63 and a current ratio of 2.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $8.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.44. Lsb Industries has a 52-week low of $4.88 and a 52-week high of $9.98.

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