Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Lamb Weston currently has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" from 14 brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of about $47.82.
• Recent analyst updates were mixed but generally cautious, with several firms cutting price targets while maintaining neutral or hold-type ratings; Zacks also upgraded the stock from strong sell to hold.
• Insiders have been buying shares, including purchases by director Peter J. Bensen and Jana Partners Management, while Lamb Weston also reported a quarterly earnings beat and a 3.4% dividend yield.

Shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $47.8182.

LW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $55.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Peter J. Bensen purchased 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $39.45 per share, for a total transaction of $197,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 17,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $678,697.80. This trade represents a 40.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp purchased 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $43.19 per share, for a total transaction of $2,159,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,398,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $233,181,946.20. This trade represents a 0.93% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired 391,000 shares of company stock worth $16,270,790 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamb Weston

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 2.0% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 9,685 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 44.2% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 649 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 6.5% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,718 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 3,101 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 115.5% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 446 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of LW opened at $45.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.47. Lamb Weston has a 12-month low of $37.62 and a 12-month high of $67.07. The company's 50-day moving average price is $43.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 23.77%. Lamb Weston's revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is 71.03%.

Lamb Weston Company Profile

Lamb Weston, traded on the NYSE under the symbol LW, is a leading global processor and supplier of frozen potato products. The company's portfolio includes a variety of potato-based items such as French fries, potato wedges, hash browns and specialty cuts tailored to the foodservice and retail grocery channels. Lamb Weston serves quick-service restaurants, full-service operators, grocery chains and food distributors, offering customized product formats, packaging solutions and seasoning options to meet evolving customer demands.

Founded in 1950 and headquartered in Eagle, Idaho, Lamb Weston has grown from a regional processor into one of the world's largest producers of frozen potato products.

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