Analysts Set Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Target Price at $81.00

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $81.00.

Several research firms recently commented on LW. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In other news, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,611.50. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamb Weston

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. City State Bank lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 56.2% in the 3rd quarter. City State Bank now owns 417 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 143.8% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of LW opened at $60.83 on Wednesday. Lamb Weston has a 1 year low of $52.99 and a 1 year high of $110.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $73.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.14. The firm has a market cap of $8.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.28, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.73.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 34.33%. Lamb Weston’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is currently 58.50%.

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.