Citigroup Increases Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Price Target to $90.00

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) had its price objective boosted by Citigroup from $76.00 to $90.00 in a report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on LW. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Lamb Weston from $132.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Consumer Edge cut shares of Lamb Weston from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $68.00 target price (up previously from $63.00) on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.56.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

LW opened at $77.26 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $65.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.56. Lamb Weston has a 52-week low of $52.99 and a 52-week high of $111.88.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 34.33%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 19.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

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, with a total value of $554,300.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 173,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,610,287.11. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamb Weston

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 248.6% in 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. City State Bank grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 56.2% in the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 417 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Lamb Weston in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 357.5% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.