Western Standard LLC Purchases New Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Western Standard LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 61,772 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,999,000. Lamb Weston makes up 3.8% of Western Standard LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 357.5% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 135.8% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. City State Bank increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 56.2% during the 3rd quarter. City State Bank now owns 417 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 251.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 436 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LW shares. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective (up previously from $63.00) on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, October 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Lamb Weston from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.50.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of LW opened at $77.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.08 billion, a PE ratio of 18.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.53. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.99 and a 1 year high of $111.88.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.01. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 34.33% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Lamb Weston’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.80%.

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.