Investors Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW)

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders bought 31,574 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 301% compared to the average volume of 7,866 put options.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 1.3 %

LW traded down $0.69 on Tuesday, hitting $52.91. The company had a trading volume of 409,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,671,898. Lamb Weston has a 52-week low of $47.90 and a 52-week high of $107.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91, a P/E/G 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 announced 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). Lamb Weston had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.45 EPS. Lamb Weston's revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Remove Ads

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is an increase from Lamb Weston's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on LW shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lamb Weston to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a "hold" rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.73.

Insider Activity at Lamb Weston

In other news, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 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 directly owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,611.50. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 26,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamb Weston

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,172 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 2,090 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $623,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter worth approximately $823,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,453,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors 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.