1,717 Shares in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Bought by WR Wealth Planners LLC

WR Wealth Planners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,717 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $115,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LW. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 155.7% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of LW stock opened at $51.87 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $7.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.16. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $50.28 and a one year high of $107.50.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. The company’s revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Lamb Weston in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays dropped their price target on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Citigroup cut Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.00.

Insider Activity at Lamb Weston

In related news, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 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, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. This trade represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.