Western Standard LLC Buys New Stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Western Standard LLC purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 61,772 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,999,000. Lamb Weston comprises about 3.8% of Western Standard LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at approximately $129,480,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 108.7% during the 3rd quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,107,929 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $201,207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,618,570 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth $86,883,000. TPG GP A LLC grew its position in Lamb Weston by 74.4% during the 2nd quarter. TPG GP A LLC now owns 2,924,230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $245,869,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 78.5% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,888,556 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $158,790,000 after purchasing an additional 830,511 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LW shares. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday. They set a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on Lamb Weston from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 target price (up previously from $63.00) on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.50.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of LW opened at $77.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.19. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.99 and a 1 year high of $111.88. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.53.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 34.33% and a net margin of 9.57%. The business’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is currently 33.80%.

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.