Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.37

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 20th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.37 per share by the specialty retailer on Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%.

Lamb Weston has raised its dividend by an average of 15.3% annually over the last three years. Lamb Weston has a payout ratio of 37.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Lamb Weston to earn $3.64 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 40.7%.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

NYSE:LW traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $52.75. 2,016,704 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,724,838. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $56.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.29. Lamb Weston has a one year low of $47.90 and a one year high of $107.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The firm has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lowered Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.73.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In related news, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt acquired 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.