New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 131,533 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 13,372 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.09% of Lamb Weston worth $8,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 9.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,221,665 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $402,791,000 after acquiring an additional 549,812 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Lamb Weston by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,388,056 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $218,598,000 after purchasing an additional 24,097 shares during the last quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 108.7% in the 3rd quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,107,929 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $201,207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,618,570 shares during the period. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter valued at $129,480,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,951,025 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $126,309,000 after purchasing an additional 468,190 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lowered shares of Lamb Weston from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Lamb Weston presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $81.00.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on LW
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Lamb Weston news, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,609,181.64. The trade was a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.
Lamb Weston Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE LW traded down $1.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $55.76. The company had a trading volume of 2,041,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,245,020. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.99 and a 1 year high of $107.50. The company has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.72. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $62.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.40.
Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.45 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.
Lamb Weston Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is 58.50%.
About Lamb Weston
(
Free Report)
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.
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