Naples Global Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Naples Global Advisors LLC cut its position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,671 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 205 shares during the quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $1,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LW. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 9.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,221,665 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $402,791,000 after purchasing an additional 549,812 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Lamb Weston by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,388,056 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $218,598,000 after buying an additional 24,097 shares during the last quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Lamb Weston by 108.7% during the 3rd quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,107,929 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $201,207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,618,570 shares during the period. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter valued at about $129,480,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 468,190 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the purchase, the director now 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 1.5 %

Lamb Weston stock opened at $57.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.72. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.99 and a 12-month high of $107.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $64.93 and a 200 day moving average of $67.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly 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). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup cut Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.00.

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.