Jan Eli Craps Buys 50,000 Shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Stock

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) insider Jan Eli Craps purchased 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $48.65 per share, for a total transaction of $2,432,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 300,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,595,000. This represents a 20.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LW opened at $50.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 7.66 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $47.99 and its 200-day moving average is $54.88. Lamb Weston has a twelve month low of $39.79 and a twelve month 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.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.71% and a net margin of 6.06%.Lamb Weston’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $63.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Institutional Trading of Lamb Weston

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 29.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 185,038 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $9,862,000 after purchasing an additional 42,039 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 3.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,355 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $872,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 3.0% in the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 18,325 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $950,000 after buying an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 9.2% in the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 28,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,483,000 after buying an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Lamb Weston by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,138 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

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.