Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Given New $77.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) had its target price upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $70.00 to $77.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on LW. Citigroup upped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $96.00 to $70.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America increased their price target on Lamb Weston from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Lamb Weston from $132.00 to $78.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Consumer Edge lowered Lamb Weston from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $77.11.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 0.8 %

LW stock opened at $68.85 on Thursday. Lamb Weston has a 1-year low of $52.99 and a 1-year high of $111.88. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $62.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.19, a P/E/G ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 0.75.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.01. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 44.06% and a net margin of 11.22%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. Lamb Weston’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 19.23%.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In related news, Director William G. Jurgensen bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $55.43 per share, for a total transaction of $554,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 173,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,610,287.11. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 248.6% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 244 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 357.5% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 135.8% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.