Strength Seen in LSB (LXU): Can Its 6.1% Jump Turn into More Strength?

LSB (LXU) shares rallied 6.1% in the last trading session to close at $6.24. This move can be attributable to notable volume with a higher number of shares being traded than in a typical session. This compares to the stock's 19.5% gain over the past four weeks.

Optimism over strengthening fertilizer market dynamics is driving the stock higher. The company is benefiting from higher demand and selling prices for fertilizers, supported by higher crop prices. Its first-quarter results are expected to reflect the benefits of higher nitrogen fertilizer prices and a recovery in demand in its industrial business.

Price and Consensus

Price Consensus Chart for LXU
Price Consensus Chart for LXU

This chemical maker is expected to post quarterly loss of $0.76 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +24.8%. Revenues are expected to be $90.15 million, up 8.1% from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.

For LSB, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on LXU going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>


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