Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Receives $81.00 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year 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 research reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 0.7 %

LW stock opened at $59.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.71. Lamb Weston has a 12 month low of $52.99 and a 12 month high of $107.50.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. This trade represents a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,611.50. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lamb Weston

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LW. City State Bank lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 56.2% in the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 417 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 155.7% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 89.56% of the stock is owned by 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.