SG Americas Securities LLC Boosts Stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,958 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,970 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $1,668,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 9.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,221,665 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $402,791,000 after purchasing an additional 549,812 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,388,056 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $218,598,000 after buying an additional 24,097 shares during the last quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 108.7% in the third quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,107,929 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $201,207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,618,570 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the third quarter worth $129,480,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 31.6% during the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,951,025 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $126,309,000 after acquiring an additional 468,190 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

NYSE LW opened at $60.62 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $8.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $69.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.64. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.99 and a fifty-two week high of $107.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on LW. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.