Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Lsb Industries Inc. (NYSE:LXU)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $14.92, but opened at $14.38. Lsb Industries shares last traded at $14.55, with a volume of 271,960 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LXU. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Lsb Industries from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $9.75 price target (up from $9.50) on shares of Lsb Industries in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lsb Industries from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lsb Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Lsb Industries from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.94.

Lsb Industries Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.37 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 2.61.

Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The conglomerate reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping 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. On average, analysts forecast that Lsb Industries Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Kristy Carver sold 19,550 shares of the company’s 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 owned 52,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $525,603.87. This represents a 27.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Cheryl Maguire sold 7,551 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $75,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 200,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,007,190. The trade was a 3.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lsb Industries

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LXU. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lsb Industries during the second quarter valued at about $2,412,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL grew its position in Lsb Industries by 581.8% in the 4th quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 342,894 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,915,000 after purchasing an additional 292,599 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Lsb Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,694,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Lsb Industries by 104.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 365,601 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,881,000 after buying an additional 187,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lsb Industries by 301.7% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 205,236 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,745,000 after buying an additional 154,150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.67% of the company’s stock.

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.