Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a market perform rating and a $85.00 target price on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 price target (up from $63.00) on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.50.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

NYSE LW opened at $79.41 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $74.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.47. The company has a market capitalization of $11.32 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.70. Lamb Weston has a 1 year low of $52.99 and a 1 year high of $111.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.01. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 34.33% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamb Weston

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth about $129,480,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 108.7% during the third quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,107,929 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $201,207,000 after buying an additional 1,618,570 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth approximately $86,883,000. TPG GP A LLC raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 74.4% in the 2nd quarter. TPG GP A LLC now owns 2,924,230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $245,869,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247,206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 78.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,888,556 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $158,790,000 after acquiring an additional 830,511 shares during the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.