Advisor OS LLC Takes $556,000 Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Advisor OS LLC acquired a new position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 8,323 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $556,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. West Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on LW. StockNews.com raised Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were purchased 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 directly owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, 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.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE LW opened at $51.86 on Thursday. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $50.93 and a 12-month high of $107.50. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.42. 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 stock has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.72.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.45 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.37 dividend. 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 2.85%. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.50%.

Lamb Weston 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.