Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Upgraded to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) to a sell rating in a research note published on Monday.

LW has been the topic of a number of other research reports. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a "hold" rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein started 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 for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $81.00.

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Lamb Weston Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE LW traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $51.87. 12,204,006 shares of the company traded hands, 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's 50-day simple moving average is $60.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.20. The company has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. Lamb Weston's revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston's payout ratio is presently 58.50%.

Insider Activity

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 position. 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

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LW. West Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 155.7% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth about $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.