Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Price Target Lowered to $68.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) had its price target decreased by Stifel Nicolaus from $80.00 to $68.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

LW has been the subject of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.42.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 0.7 %

LW stock opened at $62.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $76.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.58. Lamb Weston has a one year low of $52.99 and a one year high of $111.88.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.35). The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 34.33% and a net margin of 9.57%. The business’s revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.45 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.37 dividend. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is currently 56.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. City State Bank raised its position in Lamb Weston by 56.2% during the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 417 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 357.5% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Lamb Weston during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. 89.56% of the stock is 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.