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

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) had its target price lowered by analysts at Barclays from $87.00 to $69.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Barclays‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 8.34% from the company’s current price.

LW has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup downgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America upped their target price on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LW opened at $63.69 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $9.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $76.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.24. Lamb Weston has a 1-year low of $52.99 and a 1-year high of $111.88.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.35). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 34.33% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamb Weston

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LW. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 357.5% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. City State Bank grew its position in Lamb Weston by 56.2% in the 3rd quarter. City State Bank now owns 417 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Key Financial Inc raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 3,825.0% during the second quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 471 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. 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.