Insider Buying: Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Director Purchases 3,000 Shares of Stock

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of Lamb Weston stock traded down $1.11 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $59.74. The company had a trading volume of 2,028,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,537,919. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $72.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.98. The stock has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a PE ratio of 14.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $52.99 and a 1-year high of $110.61.

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

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston's payout ratio is presently 58.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamb Weston

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $396,000. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the 2nd quarter valued at $388,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 88.7% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,591 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $890,000 after acquiring an additional 4,979 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 43.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 650,509 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $54,695,000 after acquiring an additional 197,621 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the 2nd quarter valued at $17,744,000. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LW has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup cut shares of Lamb Weston from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Company Profile

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.

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