Lamb Weston (LW) To Go Ex-Dividend on January 30th

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.38 per share by the specialty retailer on Friday, February 27th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This is a 2.7% increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37.

Lamb Weston has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 7 consecutive years. Lamb Weston has a dividend payout ratio of 39.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Lamb Weston to earn $3.64 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 41.8%.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of Lamb Weston stock opened at $44.97 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.18, a PEG ratio of 6.68 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.08. Lamb Weston has a 52 week low of $39.79 and a 52 week high of $67.07.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.71% and a net margin of 6.06%.The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LW shares. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

Lamb Weston Company Profile

Lamb Weston, traded on the NYSE under the symbol LW, is a leading global processor and supplier of frozen potato products. The company’s portfolio includes a variety of potato-based items such as French fries, potato wedges, hash browns and specialty cuts tailored to the foodservice and retail grocery channels. Lamb Weston serves quick-service restaurants, full-service operators, grocery chains and food distributors, offering customized product formats, packaging solutions and seasoning options to meet evolving customer demands.

Founded in 1950 and headquartered in Eagle, Idaho, Lamb Weston has grown from a regional processor into one of the world’s largest producers of frozen potato products.