Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $80.56.

LW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America upped their price target on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Lamb Weston from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamb Weston

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Lamb Weston by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,695,138 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,778,533,000 after purchasing an additional 60,601 shares during the last quarter. TPG GP A LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 74.4% during the second quarter. TPG GP A LLC now owns 2,924,230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $245,869,000 after buying an additional 1,247,206 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 5.9% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,045,582 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $171,993,000 after purchasing an additional 114,049 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 78.5% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,888,556 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $158,790,000 after purchasing an additional 830,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Lamb Weston by 11.7% in the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,233,420 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $131,396,000 after buying an additional 129,120 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Lamb Weston stock opened at $77.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The company has a market capitalization of $11.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.75. Lamb Weston has a 12 month low of $52.99 and a 12 month high of $111.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $66.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.59.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.01. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 34.33% and a net margin of 9.57%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.23%.

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.