Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Short Interest Down 15.1% in March

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,540,000 shares, a decline of 15.1% from the March 15th total of 7,700,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,900,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 4.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of LW opened at $52.46 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $53.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.40. Lamb Weston has a 1 year low of $47.90 and a 1 year high of $89.51.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 3rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on LW shares. StockNews.com upgraded Lamb Weston from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Lamb Weston from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.27.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 3,466.7% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 155.7% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.