Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) to a sell rating in a research note published on Monday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 6.6 %

Shares of NYSE LW opened at $52.14 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. Lamb Weston has a 12 month low of $51.96 and a 12 month high of $107.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.44 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.48.

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

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at $1,609,181.64. This trade represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,453,611.50. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its position 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth $39,000. 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.