Cerity Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Cerity Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 36.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,005 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 9,058 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $1,041,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. West Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 155.7% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Lamb Weston stock traded down $0.29 on Wednesday, hitting $52.18. 891,896 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,670,819. The company has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.48. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $47.90 and a one year high of $89.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $53.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.40.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Lamb Weston's payout ratio is 58.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.