GWN Securities Inc. Takes $484,000 Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

GWN Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 7,961 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $484,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LW. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at about $129,480,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 108.7% during the third quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,107,929 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $201,207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,618,570 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth about $86,883,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth about $38,382,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 9.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,221,665 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $402,791,000 after acquiring an additional 549,812 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 4.8 %

Lamb Weston stock opened at $50.98 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.50. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.90 and a 12-month high of $107.50.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on LW. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup lowered shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.73.

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.