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

Shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $54.1818.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LW shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $66.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. BNP Paribas set a $48.00 target price on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Cfra Research raised shares of Lamb Weston to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 2nd quarter valued at about $400,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 29.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 912,668 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $47,322,000 after acquiring an additional 207,210 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 291.7% during the second quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 391,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $20,310,000 after acquiring an additional 291,700 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 19.9% during the third quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 1,279,345 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $74,304,000 after acquiring an additional 212,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,611,000. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

NYSE:LW opened at $42.20 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.70. Lamb Weston has a 52 week low of $41.41 and a 52 week high of $68.61. The stock has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a PE ratio of 15.18, a P/E/G ratio of 6.23 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.71% and a net margin of 6.06%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is currently 53.24%.

Lamb Weston Company Profile

Lamb Weston, traded on the NYSE under the symbol LW, is a leading global processor and supplier of frozen potato products. The company’s portfolio includes a variety of potato-based items such as French fries, potato wedges, hash browns and specialty cuts tailored to the foodservice and retail grocery channels. Lamb Weston serves quick-service restaurants, full-service operators, grocery chains and food distributors, offering customized product formats, packaging solutions and seasoning options to meet evolving customer demands.

Founded in 1950 and headquartered in Eagle, Idaho, Lamb Weston has grown from a regional processor into one of the world’s largest producers of frozen potato products.