Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW)

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 35,906 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 291% compared to the average volume of 9,194 put options.

Insider Activity at Lamb Weston

In other news, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,609,181.64. The trade was a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt acquired 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamb Weston

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 3.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,121,626 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $94,300,000 after buying an additional 38,970 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Lamb Weston by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 40,645 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,077 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 33.7% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 19,678 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,655,000 after purchasing an additional 4,960 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 27.0% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 40,035 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,366,000 after purchasing an additional 8,518 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 7.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 11,697 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $900,000 after purchasing an additional 832 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated 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 target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Lamb Weston in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a "hold" rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LW traded up $2.57 on Tuesday, reaching $62.65. 2,253,377 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,441,273. Lamb Weston has a fifty-two week low of $52.99 and a fifty-two week high of $110.46. The business's 50-day moving average is $70.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.73.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. Lamb Weston's revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.11 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is an increase from Lamb Weston's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.50%.

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.