Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Given New $44.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) had its target price lowered by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $50.00 to $44.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 6.61% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on LW. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane set a $48.00 target price on Lamb Weston in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.40.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:LW traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $41.27. The stock had a trading volume of 457,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,232,973. Lamb Weston has a 12 month low of $39.60 and a 12 month high of $67.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.72. The company has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.91, a PEG ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.43.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its quarterly 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. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 27.71%. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In other news, insider Jan Eli B. Craps acquired 50,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $48.65 per share, for a total transaction of $2,432,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 300,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,595,000. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lamb Weston

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 115.5% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 446 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 44.2% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 649 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Motco bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 380.7% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 721 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.