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

Shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $53.00.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Lamb Weston from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $66.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd.

Insider Activity

In other Lamb Weston news, insider Jan Eli B. Craps purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $48.65 per share, with a total value of $2,432,500.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 300,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,595,000. This trade represents a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 2.0% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 9,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 44.2% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 649 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 13.6% in the third quarter. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. now owns 1,772 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 6.5% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,718 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position in Lamb Weston by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 3,101 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 1.0%

LW opened at $49.83 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.49. The company has a market capitalization of $6.92 billion, a PE ratio of 17.92, a PEG ratio of 7.43 and a beta of 0.44. Lamb Weston has a 1-year low of $39.79 and a 1-year high of $67.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.69 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 analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. Lamb Weston’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.68%.

About Lamb Weston

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.