Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $53.00.

LW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Bank of America dropped their target price on Lamb Weston from $66.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Barclays cut their target price on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamb Weston

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LW. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 115.5% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 446 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 64.2% during the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 537 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Motco bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of LW stock opened at $44.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.43. Lamb Weston has a 52 week low of $39.79 and a 52 week high of $67.07. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $50.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.18. The company has a market capitalization of $6.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 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.