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

Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $125.29.

LW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. TD Cowen began coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Wednesday, September 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Lamb Weston from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $127.00 in a report on Monday, September 4th.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 0.9 %

Lamb Weston stock opened at $95.69 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $92.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.60. The company has a market capitalization of $13.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.65. Lamb Weston has a 52 week low of $81.25 and a 52 week high of $117.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 5th. The specialty retailer reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 77.14%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 48.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston will post 5.84 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 3rd will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 2nd. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 16.18%.

Lamb Weston declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 11th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to buy up to 4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

In other Lamb Weston news, Director William G. Jurgensen bought 3,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $84.35 per share, for a total transaction of $253,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 162,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,735,132.25. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamb Weston

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 3,242.8% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,163,334 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $121,592,000 after buying an additional 1,128,533 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 51.8% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,518,144 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $263,196,000 after purchasing an additional 859,733 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Lamb Weston in the 1st quarter valued at about $84,036,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 406.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 934,530 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $86,407,000 after buying an additional 750,033 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 562.4% during the 1st quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 877,634 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $91,730,000 after buying an additional 745,148 shares during the last quarter. 85.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.