Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell” Rating

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on LW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. 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. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Lamb Weston in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

LW stock traded down $3.67 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $52.14. The stock had a trading volume of 5,650,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,342,337. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.44 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.72. Lamb Weston has a fifty-two week low of $51.96 and a fifty-two week high of $107.50.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). Lamb Weston had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. Lamb Weston’s quarterly revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamb Weston

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LW. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,641,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,850,000. Leeward Investments LLC MA increased its holdings in Lamb Weston by 41.5% in the fourth quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 156,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,457,000 after purchasing an additional 45,904 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,343 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $892,000 after buying an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicola Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,474,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

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.