Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $81.00.

A number of research firms recently commented on LW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th.

Insider Activity at Lamb Weston

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,453,611.50. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamb Weston

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LW. City State Bank increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 56.2% in the 3rd quarter. City State Bank now owns 417 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 0.8% in the third quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 18,756 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,214,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Lamb Weston by 2.8% during the third quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,648 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 5.4% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,649 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 4,592 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of LW stock opened at $61.79 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $8.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $74.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.64. Lamb Weston has a 1-year low of $52.99 and a 1-year high of $110.61.

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

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is currently 58.50%.

Lamb Weston Company Profile

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.