Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Price Target to $66.00

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $65.00 to $66.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the specialty retailer's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target would suggest a potential upside of 14.88% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on LW. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lamb Weston from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $69.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $67.73.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE LW traded up $0.26 on Thursday, hitting $57.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 738,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,418,876. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25. Lamb Weston has a 1-year low of $47.87 and a 1-year high of $83.98. The company's 50-day moving average is $53.00 and its 200 day moving average is $54.51. The firm has a market cap of $8.11 billion, a PE ratio of 22.47, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.46.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.23. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 5.74% and a return on equity of 27.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Lamb Weston

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Lamb Weston by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 18,944 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 51,293 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,428,000 after purchasing an additional 12,812 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 116,036 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $7,755,000 after purchasing an additional 10,855 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 167,752 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $11,211,000 after purchasing an additional 34,827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,646,887 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,112,511,000 after purchasing an additional 58,066 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.

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