Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC Invests $615,000 in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 9,200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $615,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 18,944 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,235 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 9,191 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842 shares during the last quarter. Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth $796,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 21,678 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,449,000 after acquiring an additional 998 shares during the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 5.1 %

Shares of Lamb Weston stock opened at $48.67 on Friday. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $47.90 and a 52-week high of $107.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.51. The firm has a market cap of $6.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued 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). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 58.50%.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In related news, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were bought 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 $1,453,611.50. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,609,181.64. This trade represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LW shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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 note on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.73.

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.