Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $81.00.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LW shares. Bank of America raised their target price on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup lowered shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In other news, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. City State Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 56.2% during the 3rd quarter. City State Bank now owns 417 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. West Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 274 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Lamb Weston stock opened at $59.46 on Friday. Lamb Weston has a 12-month low of $52.99 and a 12-month high of $107.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.71. 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 posted its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. The business’s revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. Research analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is presently 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.