39,520 Shares in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Purchased by Alberta Investment Management Corp

Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 39,520 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,641,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,343 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $892,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter valued at $6,474,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 108.7% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 36.0% in the fourth quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 61,950 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,140,000 after buying an additional 16,412 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 39.3% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 156,242 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $10,115,000 after buying an additional 44,057 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company 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 decreased their target price for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Lamb Weston Trading Down 0.7 %

Lamb Weston stock opened at $56.76 on Friday. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $52.99 and a one year high of $107.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $62.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.40. 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 $8.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.44, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.72.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is presently 58.50%.

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.