Brokerages Set Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) PT at $69.91

Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $69.91.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on LW shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Lamb Weston from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 target price on Lamb Weston and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lamb Weston from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Lamb Weston from $69.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of Lamb Weston stock opened at $55.81 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.88 billion, a PE ratio of 22.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.69. Lamb Weston has a one year low of $47.90 and a one year high of $88.25.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.23. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LW. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth approximately $423,270,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 49.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,500,503 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $239,877,000 after buying an additional 1,483,559 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,736,000. JANA Partners Management LP raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. JANA Partners Management LP now owns 7,131,339 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $476,587,000 after buying an additional 1,302,585 shares during the period. Finally, Continental Grain Co. acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,786,000. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Company Profile

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.