Greenleaf Trust Buys 335 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. City State Bank lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 56.2% in the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 417 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the third quarter worth $29,000. West Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 155.7% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 143.8% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of LW stock opened at $59.05 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $66.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.71. The stock has a market cap of $8.42 billion, a PE ratio of 23.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.72. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.99 and a 12 month high of $107.50.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. Lamb Weston’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is presently 58.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was acquired 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the acquisition, the director now 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of 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. 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

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.