Traders Purchase Large Volume of Lamb Weston Put Options (NYSE:LW)

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 15,234 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 278% compared to the average daily volume of 4,033 put options.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 0.1%

LW traded up $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.55. 243,685 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,631,044. The stock has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.63 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Lamb Weston has a fifty-two week low of $39.79 and a fifty-two week high of $67.07. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.33.

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

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a $0.38 dividend. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is presently 53.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on LW shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Lamb Weston from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. BNP Paribas set a $48.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $63.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $49.00 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, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.18.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 115.5% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 446 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 64.2% in the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 537 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Motco bought a new stake in Lamb Weston during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. 89.56% of the stock is owned by 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.