Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Thursday.

LW has been the topic of several other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 target price on Lamb Weston and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $69.91.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:LW traded down $0.04 during trading on Thursday, hitting $51.20. 280,077 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,638,134. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $53.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.20. The company has a market cap of $7.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.46. Lamb Weston has a 52 week low of $47.90 and a 52 week high of $89.51.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamb Weston

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at $63,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 165,953 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $10,744,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Lamb Weston by 67.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 746 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 4,877 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. 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.