Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twelve research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $76.73.

LW has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup cut shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Activity at Lamb Weston

In related news, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. West Oak Capital LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 0.8 %

LW opened at $53.16 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. Lamb Weston has a 12 month low of $47.90 and a 12 month high of $107.50. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.50%.

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.