Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $69.91.

LW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $69.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th.

Institutional Trading of Lamb Weston

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,223 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 15,260 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 7,130 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 10,971 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $585,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of LW opened at $53.52 on Tuesday. Lamb Weston has a fifty-two week low of $47.90 and a fifty-two week high of $89.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $53.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.33. The company has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.23. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.04%.

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.