Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Price Target to $77.00

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) had its target price upped by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $70.00 to $77.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 14.79% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $132.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Consumer Edge lowered Lamb Weston from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays decreased their target price 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. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.90.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

LW traded up $0.50 during trading on Thursday, hitting $67.08. 1,244,653 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,520,981. The firm has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 0.75. 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 has a one year low of $52.99 and a one year high of $111.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $61.82 and its 200 day moving average is $77.58.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.01. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 44.06% and a net margin of 11.22%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Lamb Weston’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 4.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 29,267 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,895,000 after buying an additional 1,752 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston in the second quarter worth $1,106,000. Maven Securities LTD purchased a new position in Lamb Weston during the 2nd quarter valued at $504,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 57.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 30,499 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,564,000 after purchasing an additional 11,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,037 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.