Brokerages Set Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) PT at $81.00

Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Hold" from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $81.00.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LW. Bank of America raised their price target on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

In other news, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 22,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,453,611.50. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamb Weston

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,221,665 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $402,791,000 after buying an additional 549,812 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,388,056 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $218,598,000 after purchasing an additional 24,097 shares during the period. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 108.7% during the third quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,107,929 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $201,207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,618,570 shares in the last quarter. TPG GP A LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 74.4% in the second quarter. TPG GP A LLC now owns 2,924,230 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $245,869,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,206 shares during the period. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,045,582 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $171,993,000 after purchasing an additional 114,049 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of LW traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $61.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,737,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,577,592. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. Lamb Weston has a 1-year low of $52.99 and a 1-year high of $110.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.64.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 34.33% and a net margin of 9.57%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is 58.50%.

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.