Peter Bensen Purchases 5,000 Shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Stock

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Director Peter Bensen acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $39.45 per share, for a total transaction of $197,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $678,697.80. This represents a 40.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of LW stock traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $40.55. 2,566,908 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,285,109. Lamb Weston has a 12-month low of $37.62 and a 12-month high of $67.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.95, a P/E/G ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.58.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.11. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 4.61%.The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is currently 71.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Friday, March 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Institutional Trading of Lamb Weston

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 86.1% during the 3rd quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 960,639 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $55,859,000 after purchasing an additional 444,328 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 46.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,150,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $124,872,000 after purchasing an additional 680,000 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,611,000. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC grew its position in Lamb Weston by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 1,279,345 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $74,304,000 after acquiring an additional 212,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in Lamb Weston by 77.2% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 57,590 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,990,000 after acquiring an additional 25,095 shares during the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Company Profile

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.