Everence Capital Management Inc. Invests $372,000 in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 5,560 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $372,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LW. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth $6,474,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the second quarter worth approximately $3,279,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 108.7% during the third quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,107,929 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $201,207,000 after buying an additional 1,618,570 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in Lamb Weston by 39.3% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 156,242 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $10,115,000 after acquiring an additional 44,057 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,506,000. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on LW shares. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Lamb Weston in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

Insider Activity at Lamb Weston

In other news, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of LW stock opened at $63.19 on Tuesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $52.99 and a fifty-two week high of $110.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.80.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.35). The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 34.33% and a net margin of 9.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.50%.

About Lamb Weston

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.