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

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $82.22.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $132.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Consumer Edge lowered shares of Lamb Weston from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd.

Institutional Trading of Lamb Weston

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. City State Bank increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 56.2% during the third 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 period. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in Lamb Weston by 357.5% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 135.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 1.7 %

LW opened at $76.77 on Tuesday. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.72. Lamb Weston has a 1-year low of $52.99 and a 1-year high of $111.88.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 34.33% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.80%.

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.