Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Lamb Weston Put Options (NYSE:LW)

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Traders bought 15,189 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 264% compared to the typical volume of 4,172 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jan Eli B. Craps acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $48.65 per share, with a total value of $2,432,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamb Weston

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Lamb Weston by 53.2% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 31,864 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 11,063 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 191.5% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 471,886 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $19,922,000 after purchasing an additional 309,995 shares during the last quarter. Walser Wealth Management Company A Ltd Liability Co bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth about $221,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 427.5% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 159,008 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,661,000 after buying an additional 128,862 shares during the period. Finally, Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $301,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Lamb Weston from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $66.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane set a $48.00 target price on Lamb Weston in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Lamb Weston stock opened at $39.87 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $45.58 and its 200 day moving average is $53.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.43. Lamb Weston has a 1 year low of $39.69 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.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. The business 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 firm’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.68%.

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.