Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on LW. BNP Paribas Exane set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Lamb Weston from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $66.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of LW traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $45.69. 1,231,921 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,467,244. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.00 and a beta of 0.43. Lamb Weston has a 1 year low of $39.79 and a 1 year high of $67.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $45.38 and its 200-day moving average is $54.00.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

In related news, insider Jan Eli B. Craps acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $48.65 per share, for a total transaction of $2,432,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 300,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,595,000. This trade represents a 20.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamb Weston

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,679,203 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $698,692,000 after buying an additional 43,766 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,824,690 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $411,558,000 after acquiring an additional 2,111,874 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,801,585 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $300,812,000 after acquiring an additional 63,865 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,528,402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $147,536,000 after purchasing an additional 21,256 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Lamb Weston by 2.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,286,305 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $190,869,000 after purchasing an additional 79,257 shares during the last quarter. 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.