Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $69.91.

Several research analysts recently commented on LW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lamb Weston from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on Lamb Weston from $69.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. 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 report on Friday, April 11th.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE LW opened at $54.79 on Friday. Lamb Weston has a fifty-two week low of $47.90 and a fifty-two week high of $87.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a market cap of $7.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $53.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.40.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 3rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.23. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. Lamb Weston’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 58.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamb Weston

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Lamb Weston during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Lamb Weston during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lamb Weston by 3,466.7% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.