Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on LW. Cfra Research raised shares of Lamb Weston to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas set a $48.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Lamb Weston from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.18.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

NYSE:LW opened at $43.18 on Monday. Lamb Weston has a twelve month low of $39.79 and a twelve month high of $67.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 0.45.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 27.71%. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamb Weston

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 1.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,801,585 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $300,812,000 after acquiring an additional 63,865 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 2.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,286,305 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $190,869,000 after acquiring an additional 79,257 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $119,413,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 46.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,150,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $124,872,000 after purchasing an additional 680,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,968,872 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $114,320,000 after purchasing an additional 378,264 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

About Lamb Weston

Lamb Weston, traded on the NYSE under the symbol LW, is a leading global processor and supplier of frozen potato products. The company’s portfolio includes a variety of potato-based items such as French fries, potato wedges, hash browns and specialty cuts tailored to the foodservice and retail grocery channels. Lamb Weston serves quick-service restaurants, full-service operators, grocery chains and food distributors, offering customized product formats, packaging solutions and seasoning options to meet evolving customer demands.

Founded in 1950 and headquartered in Eagle, Idaho, Lamb Weston has grown from a regional processor into one of the world’s largest producers of frozen potato products.