Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Sets New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) shares hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $41.40 and last traded at $41.43, with a volume of 2206939 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.29.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on LW. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Lamb Weston to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Bank of America dropped their price target on Lamb Weston from $66.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.18.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 2.3%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $55.97 and a 200-day moving average of $56.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87, a P/E/G ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 0.45.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.71% and a net margin of 6.06%.Lamb Weston’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.24%.

Institutional Trading of Lamb Weston

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the second quarter valued at about $400,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 29.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 912,668 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,322,000 after buying an additional 207,210 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,611,000. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 1,279,345 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $74,304,000 after acquiring an additional 212,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in Lamb Weston by 291.7% in the 2nd quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 391,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $20,310,000 after acquiring an additional 291,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.