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

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders bought 10,142 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 73% compared to the average daily volume of 5,851 put options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William G. Jurgensen purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $55.43 per share, for a total transaction of $554,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 173,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,610,287.11. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 248.6% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 244 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 357.5% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 135.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on LW. Consumer Edge cut Lamb Weston from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Lamb Weston from $98.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $96.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $115.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, TD Cowen cut Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.70.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

LW stock opened at $63.02 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $67.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92. The stock has a market cap of $9.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.41, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.74. Lamb Weston has a fifty-two week low of $52.99 and a fifty-two week high of $111.88.

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

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 19.23%.

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.