Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC Acquires Shares of 3,345 Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,345 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,223 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 5.4% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,649 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,901 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $595,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Lamb Weston

In other news, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. The trade was a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,611.50. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

NYSE:LW opened at $50.98 on Friday. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.90 and a 52 week high of $107.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $57.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.44.

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). Lamb Weston had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. Lamb Weston’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given 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 yield of 2.90%. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is currently 58.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on LW shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Lamb Weston in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lowered Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.73.

Lamb Weston Company 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.