Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Director Charles A. Blixt Purchases 1,200 Shares

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Director Charles A. Blixt acquired 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,611.50. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LW opened at $63.90 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $76.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.24. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.99 and a fifty-two week high of $111.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.70.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 34.33% and a net margin of 9.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.45 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Citigroup downgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Lamb Weston in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamb Weston

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LW. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter valued at about $129,480,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 108.7% in the third quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,107,929 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $201,207,000 after buying an additional 1,618,570 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at approximately $86,883,000. TPG GP A LLC grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 74.4% during the 2nd quarter. TPG GP A LLC now owns 2,924,230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $245,869,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247,206 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 78.5% during 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.

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.