Spinoff Spotlight: Lamb Weston Holdings Inc.

Article Excerpt

LAMB WESTON HOLDINGS INC., $76, is still our #1 spinoff buy for 2019. The company (New York symbol LW; Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 146.1 million; Market cap: $11.1 billion; Takeover Target Rating: Highest; Dividend yield: 1.1%; www.lambweston.com) is a leading producer of frozen french fries, potatoes and other packaged vegetables. In November 2016, Conagra Brands (New York symbol CAG) spun off Lamb Weston as a separate firm. Investors received one Lamb Weston share for every three Conagra shares they held. They’ve now seen their LW shares jump a whopping 155% since the split. That growth reflects the spinoff’s strong sales. In its fiscal 2020 first quarter, ended August 25, 2019, Lamb Weston’s revenue shot up 8.1%, to $989.0 million from $914.9 million a year earlier. The improved results are due to both higher selling prices (up 2%) and volumes (up 6%). Earnings improved 8.2%, to $0.79 a share from $0.73. The company now expects its fiscal 2020 gross earnings to rise to…