Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $64.91, but opened at $63.00. Lamb Weston shares last traded at $66.00, with a volume of 629,698 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LW shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $132.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $96.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.00.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $9.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $62.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 44.06%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 4.54 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William G. Jurgensen bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $55.43 per share, with a total value of $554,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 173,377 shares in the company, valued at $9,610,287.11. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamb Weston

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 248.6% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 244 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 357.5% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 135.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.