Alberta Investment Management Corp Purchases New Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 39,520 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,641,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LW. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 0.8% during the third quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 18,756 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,214,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,223 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,648 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,649 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 977 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a "hold" rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of LW stock traded down $1.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $55.76. 2,041,577 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,245,023. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.72. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.99 and a 12 month high of $107.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $62.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.39.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). Lamb Weston had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost from Lamb Weston's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Charles A. Blixt acquired 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 26,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. This trade represents a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Lamb Weston Profile

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.