Investors Buy High Volume of Lamb Weston Put Options (NYSE:LW)

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders purchased 15,234 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 278% compared to the typical daily volume of 4,033 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamb Weston

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LW. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the second quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 115.5% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 446 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 64.2% during the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 537 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Motco purchased a new position in Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of LW opened at $44.03 on Friday. Lamb Weston has a 52-week low of $39.79 and a 52-week high of $67.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.18. The company has a market capitalization of $6.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 0.45.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced 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. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 27.71%. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on LW. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. 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 report on Monday, December 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Lamb Weston to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

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.