The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases 31,363 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,014 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,363 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.09% of Lamb Weston worth $8,093,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LW. City State Bank increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 56.2% in the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 417 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 18,756 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,214,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Lamb Weston by 2.8% in 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 during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 13,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 4,592 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 1.8 %

Lamb Weston stock opened at $77.96 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $52.99 and a 1-year high of $111.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $75.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.50.

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

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 price target (up previously from $63.00) on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.50.

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.