Stifel Nicolaus Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Stock Price

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) had its target price lowered by Stifel Nicolaus from $80.00 to $68.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the specialty retailer's stock.

LW has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Citigroup downgraded Lamb Weston from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $81.42.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

NYSE:LW traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $62.09. 6,510,310 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,534,458. Lamb Weston has a 1-year low of $52.99 and a 1-year high of $111.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.58, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $76.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.58.

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 business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 34.33% and a net margin of 9.57%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. This is a boost from Lamb Weston's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston's payout ratio is presently 33.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamb Weston

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Lamb Weston by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 165,953 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $10,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,927 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in Lamb Weston by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 4,075 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 52.0% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 35,089 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,272,000 after purchasing an additional 12,010 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth $63,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 49.5% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 65,331 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,230,000 after buying an additional 21,639 shares in the last quarter. 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.