Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Lamb Weston has a consensus analyst rating of “Hold” from 13 brokerages, with an average 1-year price target of $48.00.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.72 EPS on $1.56 billion in revenue, both above estimates, though revenue grew only 2.9% year over year.
• Lamb Weston also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share and has seen notable insider buying, including purchases by director Peter J. Bensen and Jana Partners Management.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $48.00.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LW. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $55.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of LW stock opened at $43.67 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.45. Lamb Weston has a 52 week low of $37.62 and a 52 week high of $67.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.11. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Lamb Weston's payout ratio is 71.03%.

Insider Activity at Lamb Weston

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Peter J. Bensen bought 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $39.45 per share, for a total transaction of $197,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at $678,697.80. This represents a 40.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp bought 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $43.19 per share, with a total value of $2,159,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,398,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at $233,181,946.20. This trade represents a 0.93% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased 391,000 shares of company stock valued at $16,270,790 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lamb Weston

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the first quarter worth approximately $3,089,000. Seven Six Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the first quarter worth approximately $1,371,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 20.9% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 435,618 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $18,409,000 after purchasing an additional 75,392 shares during the period. Bull Harbor Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the first quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 12.9% in the first quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 95,981 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,056,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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