Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Stock Price Up 2.5% – Here’s Why

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)’s share price shot up 2.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $67.01 and last traded at $66.94. 204,638 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 2,532,862 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on LW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup cut shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 2.6 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $75.97 and a 200-day moving average of $71.85. The company has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.73, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

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). The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 34.33% and a net margin of 9.57%. The business’s revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,611.50. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamb Weston

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LW. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 2.4% during the third 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 during the period. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 4,075 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 52.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 35,089 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,272,000 after buying an additional 12,010 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in Lamb Weston by 49.5% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 65,331 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,230,000 after acquiring an additional 21,639 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Company Profile

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.