Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $48.40 and last traded at $48.47, with a volume of 1182705 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $51.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on LW. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Lamb Weston in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.73.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $57.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.44. The stock has a market cap of $7.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $1.45 EPS. Lamb Weston’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at $1,609,181.64. This trade represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt acquired 1,200 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased 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 owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. The trade was 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 Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LW. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Lamb Weston by 2.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 165,953 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $10,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,927 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 112.5% in the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 5,221 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 2,764 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 88.1% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,023 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 2.2% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 344,106 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $22,277,000 after buying an additional 7,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 98.5% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 25,848 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,673,000 after buying an additional 12,827 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently 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.