Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup

Citigroup lowered shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $68.00 price objective on the specialty retailer’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $90.00.

LW has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Lamb Weston in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.42.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Lamb Weston stock opened at $62.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $76.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.39. Lamb Weston has a fifty-two week low of $52.99 and a fifty-two week high of $111.88. The firm has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.70.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 34.33%. The business’s revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is 56.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamb Weston

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LW. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 34.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,010 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $589,000 after acquiring an additional 1,786 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Lamb Weston by 251.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 436 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 237.1% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 185,444 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $15,592,000 after purchasing an additional 130,428 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 86.2% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,946 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 2,753 shares during the period. Finally, &PARTNERS grew its position in Lamb Weston by 75.8% during the second quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 6,016 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 2,594 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.