Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

LW has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Lamb Weston from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $63.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.64.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

LW traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $51.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,325,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,666,823. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The business has a 50-day moving average of $53.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.97. The company has a market cap of $7.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.48. Lamb Weston has a 1 year low of $47.90 and a 1 year high of $89.51.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lamb Weston by 3,466.7% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 535 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 155.7% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.