Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Price Target Raised to $66.00

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) had its price objective boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $65.00 to $66.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen raised Lamb Weston from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on Lamb Weston from $69.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 price target on Lamb Weston and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lamb Weston has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.40.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 3.9%

Shares of Lamb Weston stock opened at $60.87 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.25, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.46. Lamb Weston has a fifty-two week low of $47.87 and a fifty-two week high of $83.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $53.28 and a 200 day moving average of $54.43.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.23. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.99% and a net margin of 5.54%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamb Weston

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LW. MGO One Seven LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the second quarter worth approximately $209,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 3.1% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 33,895 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 63.6% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 14,539 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 5,650 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 6.2% in the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 21,017 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 14.5% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,138 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.