Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Has $515,000 Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System cut its stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LW. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 7,208 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 117.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 950 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 45.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 269,059 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $17,419,000 after purchasing an additional 83,615 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 37.3% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 895 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. This trade represents a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt acquired 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,453,611.50. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of LW opened at $57.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $63.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.72. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.99 and a 52 week high of $107.50.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on LW shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Lamb Weston in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Company 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.