Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $54.1818.

LW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:LW opened at $43.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 6.63 and a beta of 0.45. 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 has a 12-month low of $39.79 and a 12-month high of $67.07. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.45.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.71% and a net margin of 6.06%.The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is presently 53.24%.

Institutional Trading of Lamb Weston

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 29.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 185,038 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $9,862,000 after buying an additional 42,039 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,355 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $872,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 27.5% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,882 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 34,493 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 128.5% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 600,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,110,000 after acquiring an additional 337,400 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Company Profile

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.