Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW)

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors acquired 10,933 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 161% compared to the average daily volume of 4,194 call options.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

LW opened at $50.61 on Tuesday. Lamb Weston has a twelve month low of $39.79 and a twelve month high of $67.07. The stock has a market cap of $7.03 billion, a PE ratio of 18.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.66 and a beta of 0.44. The business’s 50 day moving average is $47.81 and its 200-day moving average is $54.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08.

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

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is 54.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on LW. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $63.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $48.00 target price on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Lamb Weston from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jan Eli B. Craps purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $48.65 per share, with a total value of $2,432,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 300,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,595,000. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,679,203 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $698,692,000 after purchasing an additional 43,766 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,801,585 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $300,812,000 after buying an additional 63,865 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,528,402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $147,536,000 after buying an additional 21,256 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 2.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,286,305 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $190,869,000 after buying an additional 79,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 45,177.0% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,835,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $118,768,000 after acquiring an additional 2,828,983 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.