By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
QRG Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW – Free Report) by 23.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,122 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,610 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 0.8% during the third quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 18,756 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,214,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,223 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 2.8% during the third quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,648 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 5.4% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,649 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,901 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $595,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Lamb Weston news, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Lamb Weston Trading Up 0.5 %
Lamb Weston stock opened at $51.69 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.28 and a 12-month high of $107.50.
Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. The company’s revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Lamb Weston Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.50%.
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.
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