Jones Financial Companies Lllp Buys 1,931 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 63.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,971 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,931 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in Lamb Weston by 155.7% in 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 bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 1.8 %

LW opened at $51.52 on Wednesday. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.28 and a twelve month 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 has a fifty day moving average of $58.14 and a 200-day moving average of $66.75. The stock has a market cap of $7.35 billion, a PE ratio of 20.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Charles A. Blixt acquired 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This represents a 5.51 % 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 link. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on LW. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. 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 target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.73.

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.