Raymond James & Associates Acquires 83,615 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 45.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 269,059 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 83,615 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $17,419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. TPG GP A LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 74.4% during the second quarter. TPG GP A LLC now owns 2,924,230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $245,869,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247,206 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 78.5% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd purchased a new position in Lamb Weston in the second quarter worth about $42,518,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 2,989.7% in the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 373,390 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,395,000 after buying an additional 361,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the second quarter valued at approximately $24,165,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

NYSE LW opened at $76.92 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $66.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.55. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.99 and a 52 week high of $111.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.75.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.01. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 34.33%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LW. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Lamb Weston from $132.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $68.00 target price (up previously from $63.00) on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.22.

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.