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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) to a sell rating in a research report report published on Monday morning.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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 reduced 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 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

LW stock opened at $52.14 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $61.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.48. The company has a market capitalization of $7.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.72. Lamb Weston has a 1-year low of $51.96 and a 1-year high of $107.50.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS 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 dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is presently 58.50%.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In other news, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,453,611.50. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 117.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 950 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 35,050 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,269,000 after buying an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 532.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,207 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,020,000 after buying an additional 26,270 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,082 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 16,780 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.