Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Receives $54.18 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $53.00.

LW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Bank of America cut their target price on Lamb Weston from $66.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Cfra Research upgraded Lamb Weston to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays reduced 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.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of Lamb Weston stock opened at $43.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Lamb Weston has a one year low of $39.79 and a one year high of $67.07. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.68 and a beta of 0.45.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its earnings results 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. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 27.71%. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamb Weston

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LW. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Lamb Weston by 29.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 185,038 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $9,862,000 after acquiring an additional 42,039 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 3.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,355 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $872,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 27.5% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,882 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 5.3% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 34,493 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 128.5% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 600,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,110,000 after buying an additional 337,400 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

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.