Investors Buy Large Volume of Lamb Weston Put Options (NYSE:LW)

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors purchased 33,591 put options on the company. This is an increase of 348% compared to the average daily volume of 7,501 put options.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

NYSE:LW opened at $52.14 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $7.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $61.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.48. Lamb Weston has a 1-year low of $51.96 and a 1-year high of $107.50.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup lowered shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. The trade was a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 0.8% during the third quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 18,756 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,214,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,223 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 2.8% in the third quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,648 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 5.4% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,649 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 7,130 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.