Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Receives $81.00 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $81.00.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lowered their target price on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

LW opened at $50.07 on Thursday. Lamb Weston has a twelve month low of $49.49 and a twelve month high of $107.50. The firm has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.79, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.27.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.35). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. The trade was a 12.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamb Weston

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter valued at $3,453,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter valued at about $820,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 66,724 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,459,000 after purchasing an additional 14,467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GTS Securities LLC raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 150.2% during the 4th quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 14,092 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $942,000 after buying an additional 42,152 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

About Lamb Weston

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc produces, distributes, and markets frozen potato products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Global, Foodservice, Retail, and Other. It offers frozen potatoes, commercial ingredients, and appetizers under the Lamb Weston brand, as well as under various customer labels.