Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Stake Trimmed by PFG Investments LLC

PFG Investments LLC cut its position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,295 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 620 shares during the quarter. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LW. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Lamb Weston by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,306 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 564 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 24,958 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,668,000 after acquiring an additional 2,970 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter worth approximately $203,000. Liberty One Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 697.4% during the fourth quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 350,268 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $23,408,000 after purchasing an additional 306,343 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Lamb Weston by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,343 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of LW opened at $61.41 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $52.99 and a one year high of $107.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $68.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.35.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.35). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. The trade was a 12.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt acquired 1,200 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup cut Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays reduced their price target on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

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.