Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 166,384 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Lamb Weston worth $11,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LW. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 1.0 %

Lamb Weston stock opened at $51.41 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.31. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.74 and a 12 month high of $107.50.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released 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 net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. 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 2.88%. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on LW. Sanford C. Bernstein began 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 objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. 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 price objective for the company. Citigroup downgraded Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

In other news, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were bought 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt acquired 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at $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 corporate insiders.

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.