Insider Buying: Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Director Purchases 1,200 Shares of Stock

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,611.50. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 2.9 %

LW traded up $1.81 during trading on Monday, reaching $63.90. The company had a trading volume of 4,383,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,541,946. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.99 and a 12 month high of $111.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $76.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.39. The company has a market cap of $9.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.70.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.35). Lamb Weston had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 34.33%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is currently 33.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LW. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth about $129,480,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Lamb Weston by 108.7% during the third quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,107,929 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $201,207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,618,570 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $86,883,000. TPG GP A LLC raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 74.4% during the 2nd quarter. TPG GP A LLC now owns 2,924,230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $245,869,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 78.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,888,556 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $158,790,000 after buying an additional 830,511 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on LW shares. Citigroup lowered shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Lamb Weston in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

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.