Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Shares Sold by Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp

Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp decreased its position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,584 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,032 shares during the quarter. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LW. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 18,756 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,214,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,223 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,648 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,649 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

NYSE LW opened at $51.53 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $7.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. 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 50-day moving average of $59.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.11. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.28 and a 1-year high of $107.50.

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

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is currently 58.50%.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In other news, Director Charles A. Blixt acquired 1,200 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price 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 in the company, valued at $1,453,611.50. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. This trade represents a 12.82 % 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 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.