Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Price Target Raised to $77.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) had its target price hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $70.00 to $77.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on LW. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $96.00 to $70.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Lamb Weston from $132.00 to $78.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Lamb Weston from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Consumer Edge cut Lamb Weston from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $82.00.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of Lamb Weston stock opened at $68.28 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.86 billion, a PE ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $62.12 and its 200 day moving average is $77.51. Lamb Weston has a 1 year low of $52.99 and a 1 year high of $111.88.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.01. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 44.06% and a net margin of 11.22%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. Lamb Weston’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is currently 19.23%.

Insider Activity

In other Lamb Weston news, Director William G. Jurgensen acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $55.43 per share, for a total transaction of $554,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 173,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,610,287.11. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LW. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,870 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,932,000 after purchasing an additional 4,280 shares during the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $611,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 148,977 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $16,103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Lamb Weston by 41.2% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 17,949 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,940,000 after purchasing an additional 5,237 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.