Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $71.00, but opened at $79.16. Lamb Weston shares last traded at $76.17, with a volume of 1,992,524 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LW shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Lamb Weston from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.67.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The company has a market capitalization of $11.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.75.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 34.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 19.23%.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In other news, Director William G. Jurgensen bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $55.43 per share, with a total value of $554,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 173,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,610,287.11. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 45.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 269,059 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $17,419,000 after acquiring an additional 83,615 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 117.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 950 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 25.3% in the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 7,349 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 1,483 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Lamb Weston by 26.7% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 5,719 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Lamb Weston

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.