Lamb Weston $LW Shares Acquired by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,528,402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 21,256 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $147,536,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LW. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 9,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,718 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 3,101 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 115.5% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 446 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Trust Co boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 4,324 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:LW opened at $42.37 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.48 and a 200-day moving average of $46.22. The firm has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a P/E/G ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.47. Lamb Weston has a twelve month low of $37.62 and a twelve month high of $67.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.11. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is presently 71.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Peter J. Bensen bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $39.45 per share, for a total transaction of $197,250.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 17,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $678,697.80. This trade represents a 40.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp bought 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $43.19 per share, for a total transaction of $2,159,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,398,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $233,181,946.20. This represents a 0.93% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased a total of 391,000 shares of company stock worth $16,270,790 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LW shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $55.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lamb Weston from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.82.

Lamb Weston Profile

Lamb Weston, traded on the NYSE under the symbol LW, is a leading global processor and supplier of frozen potato products. The company’s portfolio includes a variety of potato-based items such as French fries, potato wedges, hash browns and specialty cuts tailored to the foodservice and retail grocery channels. Lamb Weston serves quick-service restaurants, full-service operators, grocery chains and food distributors, offering customized product formats, packaging solutions and seasoning options to meet evolving customer demands.

Founded in 1950 and headquartered in Eagle, Idaho, Lamb Weston has grown from a regional processor into one of the world’s largest producers of frozen potato products.