Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $81.00.

LW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup cut shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Lamb Weston in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Lamb Weston stock opened at $60.83 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $73.28 and a 200-day moving average of $70.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Lamb Weston has a 1 year low of $52.99 and a 1 year high of $110.61. The company has a market capitalization of $8.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.73.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its quarterly 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). Lamb Weston had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 34.33%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 58.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamb Weston

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. City State Bank lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 56.2% during the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 417 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 18,756 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,214,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,648 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Lamb Weston by 5.4% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,649 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. increased its holdings in Lamb Weston by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 4,592 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.