Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Receives $81.00 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $81.00.

A number of research firms have recently commented on LW. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a "hold" rating and a $81.00 target price for the company.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 0.8 %

Lamb Weston stock traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $51.87. The stock had a trading volume of 12,204,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,702,682. Lamb Weston has a 52-week low of $50.28 and a 52-week high of $107.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $60.05 and a 200 day moving average of $67.21. The firm has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

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Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost from Lamb Weston's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles A. Blixt acquired 1,200 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 22,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. The trade was a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Lamb Weston

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LW. West Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 155.7% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company's stock.

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.