Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Trims Stock Holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd trimmed its position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 59.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,269 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,835 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 113.4% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 303 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 24.4% in the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 582 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 17.6% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,084 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 537.1% in the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,134 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter worth $129,000. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on LW. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Lamb Weston from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Lamb Weston from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Lamb Weston from $128.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, March 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $128.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Lamb Weston from $132.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.40.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 1.0 %

Lamb Weston stock opened at $84.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $12.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.19. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $77.41 and a one year high of $117.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $96.26 and a 200 day moving average of $98.62.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 4th. The specialty retailer reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 50.74% and a net margin of 16.71%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is presently 19.23%.

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.