Barings LLC Has $2.22 Million Stock Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Barings LLC trimmed its position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 15.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,248 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 6,259 shares during the quarter. Barings LLC’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $2,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Lamb Weston by 9.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,221,665 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $402,791,000 after purchasing an additional 549,812 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Lamb Weston by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,388,056 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $218,598,000 after purchasing an additional 24,097 shares during the period. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Lamb Weston by 108.7% in the third quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,107,929 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $201,207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,618,570 shares during the period. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston in the third quarter worth about $129,480,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Lamb Weston by 31.6% in the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,951,025 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $126,309,000 after purchasing an additional 468,190 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LW shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup cut Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

In related news, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,453,611.50. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. The trade was a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE:LW opened at $52.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.28 and a fifty-two week high of $107.50.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). The firm 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.37 dividend. 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. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is presently 58.50%.

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.