Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $81.00.

LW has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup cut shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

LW opened at $50.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.14 billion, a PE ratio of 19.79, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.35. Lamb Weston has a 52-week low of $49.49 and a 52-week high of $107.50. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.27.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is 58.50%.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In related news, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. The trade was a 12.82 % increase 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. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LW. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 117.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 950 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 532.1% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,207 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,020,000 after buying an additional 26,270 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 15.3% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,082 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $523,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 7.2% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 16,780 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after buying an additional 1,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the third quarter valued at about $204,000. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lamb Weston

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc produces, distributes, and markets frozen potato products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Global, Foodservice, Retail, and Other. It offers frozen potatoes, commercial ingredients, and appetizers under the Lamb Weston brand, as well as under various customer labels.