Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Hits New 12-Month Low - What's Next?

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $50.12 and last traded at $50.20, with a volume of 1121313 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $51.87.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lamb Weston to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $81.00.

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Lamb Weston Stock Up 2.3 %

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $58.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.90. The company has a market cap of $7.54 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.50%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were purchased 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. This trade represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Lamb Weston by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,082 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $523,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the third quarter valued at $210,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 157.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 72,568 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,698,000 after purchasing an additional 44,372 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter worth about $436,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 165,953 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $10,744,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.