Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Receives $48.00 Average Price Target from Analysts

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $47.8182.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lamb Weston from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd.

Insider Activity at Lamb Weston

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Peter J. Bensen bought 5,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $39.45 per share, with a total value of $197,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 17,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $678,697.80. The trade was a 40.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp purchased 136,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $40.89 per share, for a total transaction of $5,561,040.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,148,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $210,541,792.20. This trade represents a 2.71% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 391,000 shares of company stock valued at $16,270,790. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamb Weston

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in Lamb Weston during the first quarter worth about $3,089,000. Seven Six Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,371,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 435,618 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $18,409,000 after buying an additional 75,392 shares during the period. Bull Harbor Capital LLC bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the 1st quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 95,981 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,056,000 after buying an additional 11,000 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:LW opened at $43.21 on Friday. 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 one year low of $37.62 and a one year high of $67.07. The company has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.19, a PEG ratio of 6.29 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.37 and a 200-day moving average of $46.78.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is presently 71.03%.

About Lamb Weston

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.