Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.37

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 20th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.37 per share by the specialty retailer on Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%.

Lamb Weston has increased its dividend payment by an average of 15.3% per year over the last three years. Lamb Weston has a payout ratio of 37.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Lamb Weston to earn $3.64 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 40.7%.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

NYSE LW traded up $0.07 during trading on Thursday, hitting $52.75. 2,016,704 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,724,838. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.35. The business has a 50 day moving average of $56.66 and a 200-day moving average of $66.29. Lamb Weston has a 12-month low of $47.90 and a 12-month high of $107.50.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its 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). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LW shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. This trade represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.