Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Coverage Initiated at Stephens

Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set an “equal weight” rating and a $46.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock. Stephens’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 6.73% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on LW. Weiss Ratings lowered Lamb Weston from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.82.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 2.3%

NYSE:LW traded up $0.98 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $43.10. 89,191 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,710,129. Lamb Weston has a 1 year low of $37.62 and a 1 year high of $67.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.13, a P/E/G ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $42.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 4.61%.Lamb Weston’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Peter J. Bensen purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $39.45 per share, for a total transaction of $197,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 17,204 shares in the company, valued at $678,697.80. This represents a 40.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp bought 50,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $43.19 per share, for a total transaction of $2,159,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,398,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $233,181,946.20. This trade represents a 0.93% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought a total of 391,000 shares of company stock valued at $16,270,790 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamb Weston

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 29.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 185,038 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $9,862,000 after purchasing an additional 42,039 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 worth $872,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Lamb Weston by 19.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,490 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in Lamb Weston by 405.9% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 256,794 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $13,548,000 after buying an additional 206,034 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 70.7% in the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 18,116 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $939,000 after buying an additional 7,503 shares in the last quarter. 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.