Lamb Weston (LW) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.38 on June 5th

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of 0.38 per share by the specialty retailer on Friday, June 5th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th.

Lamb Weston has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 7 consecutive years. Lamb Weston has a payout ratio of 39.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Lamb Weston to earn $3.09 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 49.2%.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

LW stock opened at $42.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50-day moving average is $43.15 and its 200-day moving average is $49.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Lamb Weston has a 1 year low of $37.62 and a 1 year high of $67.07.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.11. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 4.61%.The business had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Bank of America cut their target price on Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.00.

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.