Analysts Set Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Price Target at $53.00

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $53.00.

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Lamb Weston from $63.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Barclays reduced their price target on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Lamb Weston from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of LW stock opened at $49.83 on Thursday. Lamb Weston has a 1-year low of $39.79 and a 1-year high of $67.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The stock has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.92, a PEG ratio of 7.43 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $47.05 and a 200-day moving average of $54.57.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 27.71%. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 54.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lamb Weston news, insider Jan Eli B. Craps bought 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $48.65 per share, with a total value of $2,432,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 300,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,595,000. This trade represents a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamb Weston

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 115.5% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 446 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 649 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Motco purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 380.7% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 721 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is 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.