Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Price Target Increased to $65.00 by Analysts at TD Cowen

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) had its price target upped by TD Cowen from $61.00 to $65.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. TD Cowen currently has a hold rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on LW. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $98.00 to $70.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $108.00 to $63.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday. Consumer Edge lowered shares of Lamb Weston from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $80.70.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 2.4 %

LW opened at $66.49 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88, a P/E/G ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $62.39 and its 200-day moving average is $78.77. Lamb Weston has a 52-week low of $52.99 and a 52-week high of $111.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by ($0.46). The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 44.06%. Analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 4.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William G. Jurgensen purchased 10,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $55.43 per share, with a total value of $554,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 173,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,610,287.11. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamb Weston

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,695,138 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,778,533,000 after purchasing an additional 60,601 shares during the period. TPG GP A LLC lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 74.4% in the second quarter. TPG GP A LLC now owns 2,924,230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $245,869,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,206 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 5.9% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,045,582 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $171,993,000 after purchasing an additional 114,049 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 78.5% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,888,556 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $158,790,000 after purchasing an additional 830,511 shares during the period. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 11.7% in the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,233,420 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $131,396,000 after purchasing an additional 129,120 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.