Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Director Charles A. Blixt Buys 1,200 Shares

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 22,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,453,611.50. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LW traded up $1.81 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $63.90. 4,383,762 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,541,946. The company has a market capitalization of $9.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.70. 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 moving average is $76.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.24. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.99 and a 1 year high of $111.88.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 34.33%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Lamb Weston's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston's payout ratio is 33.80%.

Institutional Trading of Lamb Weston

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LW. City State Bank boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 357.5% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 143.8% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a "hold" rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup cut shares of Lamb Weston from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Lamb Weston in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $81.00.

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.