Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Sets New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?
by Tristan Rich · The Markets DailyLamb Weston (NYSE:LW – Get Free Report)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $39.70 and last traded at $40.0970, with a volume of 985959 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $40.55.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research firms recently issued reports on LW. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research raised Lamb Weston from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Lamb Weston from $63.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Lamb Weston
Lamb Weston Stock Performance
The firm has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.40.
Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.71% and a net margin of 6.06%.The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Lamb Weston Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 54.68%.
Insider Activity
In other Lamb Weston news, insider Jan Eli B. Craps purchased 50,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $48.65 per share, with a total value of $2,432,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 300,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,595,000. This trade represents a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamb Weston
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 29.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 185,038 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $9,862,000 after acquiring an additional 42,039 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,355 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $872,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the 2nd quarter worth $939,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 24,173 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,253,000 after purchasing an additional 2,616 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.
About Lamb Weston
Lamb Weston, traded on the NYSE under the symbol LW, is a leading global processor and supplier of frozen potato products. The company’s portfolio includes a variety of potato-based items such as French fries, potato wedges, hash browns and specialty cuts tailored to the foodservice and retail grocery channels. Lamb Weston serves quick-service restaurants, full-service operators, grocery chains and food distributors, offering customized product formats, packaging solutions and seasoning options to meet evolving customer demands.
Founded in 1950 and headquartered in Eagle, Idaho, Lamb Weston has grown from a regional processor into one of the world’s largest producers of frozen potato products.