Lamb Weston Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:LW)

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 8,302 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 141% compared to the average volume of 3,451 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $69.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America lowered their price target on Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Nine equities 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $67.64.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:LW traded up $0.09 on Thursday, reaching $51.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,582,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,657,288. Lamb Weston has a 12-month low of $47.90 and a 12-month high of $83.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25. The firm has a market cap of $7.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.52.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamb Weston

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LW. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at $423,270,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 49.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,500,503 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $239,877,000 after buying an additional 1,483,559 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at $96,736,000. JANA Partners Management LP grew its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. JANA Partners Management LP now owns 7,131,339 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $476,587,000 after buying an additional 1,302,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continental Grain Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at $63,786,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company's stock.

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.