Peter Bensen Purchases 5,000 Shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Stock

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Director Peter Bensen bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.45 per share, for a total transaction of $197,250.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,204 shares in the company, valued at $678,697.80. This trade represents a 40.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 2.6%

Lamb Weston stock opened at $41.66 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. Lamb Weston has a 12-month low of $37.62 and a 12-month high of $67.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $44.80 and its 200 day moving average is $51.41. The company has a market capitalization of $5.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.49.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.11. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. Lamb Weston’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is presently 71.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on LW shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, December 29th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. 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 buying an additional 43,766 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,824,690 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $411,558,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111,874 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised 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 purchasing an additional 63,865 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 21,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 79,257 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.