Lamb Weston continues to impress

Article Excerpt

LAMB WESTON HOLDINGS INC. $68 (New York symbol LW; Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 146.1 million; Market cap: $9.9 billion; Takeover Target Rating: Highest; Dividend yield: 1.2%; www.lambweston.com) is a leading producer of frozen french fries, potatoes and other packaged vegetables. The company was a wholly owned subsidiary of Conagra Brands until November 9, 2016. That’s when Conagra set up Lamb Weston as a separate company. It then handed its investors one Lamb Weston share for every three Conagra shares they held. In its fiscal 2019 fourth quarter, ended May 26, 2019, Lamb Weston’s sales rose 9.3%, to $1.0 billion from $918.2 million a year earlier. The improved results are due to higher selling prices (up 3%) and volumes (up 6%). If you disregard unusual items, the company earned $0.74 a share in the latest quarter, up 13.8% from $0.65 a year earlier. Earnings will likely rise 8% in fiscal 2020 to $3.47 a share. The stock, which is up 130% since Lamb Weston…