Zacks: Analysts Anticipate Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Will Announce Earnings of $0.50 Per Share

Brokerages expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW – Get Rating) will announce $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the current quarter, Zacks reports. Three analysts have made estimates for Lamb Weston’s earnings, with the lowest EPS estimate coming in at $0.47 and the highest estimate coming in at $0.56. Lamb Weston posted earnings per share of $0.44 in the same quarter last year, which indicates a positive year over year growth rate of 13.6%. The firm is expected to report its next earnings results on Monday, January 1st.

On average, analysts expect that Lamb Weston will report full year earnings of $1.93 per share for the current year, with EPS estimates ranging from $1.90 to $1.99. For the next fiscal year, analysts forecast that the firm will report earnings of $2.84 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $2.66 to $3.00. Zacks Investment Research’s earnings per share averages are an average based on a survey of sell-side research firms that cover Lamb Weston.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 7th. The specialty retailer reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $955.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $972.64 million. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 66.02% and a net margin of 5.93%. Lamb Weston’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LW. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Lamb Weston from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 22nd. StockNews.com started coverage on Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Zacks Investment Research cut Lamb Weston from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $54.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, March 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.20.

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LW. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 1.8% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 10,089,732 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $619,206,000 after purchasing an additional 180,439 shares in the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 39.9% during the fourth quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 3,701,715 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $234,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055,579 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 696.2% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,551,015 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $225,063,000 after purchasing an additional 3,105,026 shares in the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 70.5% in the third quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 3,331,448 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $204,431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,377,878 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,966,731 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $188,082,000 after purchasing an additional 382,224 shares in the last quarter. 91.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NYSE:LW traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $67.21. 10,070 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,451,674. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.87, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.63. The company has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of 41.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.17. Lamb Weston has a 1 year low of $49.71 and a 1 year high of $85.72.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.245 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 5th. This represents a $0.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.64%.

Lamb Weston announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to buy up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Lamb Weston Company Profile (Get Rating)

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc produces, distributes, and markets value-added frozen potato products worldwide. It operates through four segments: Global, Foodservice, Retail, and Other. The company offers frozen potatoes, commercial ingredients, and appetizers under the Lamb Weston brand, as well as under various customer labels.

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