South Dakota Investment Council Has $7.15 Million Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

South Dakota Investment Council boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 106,910 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $7,145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its position in Lamb Weston by 9.7% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 valued at $218,598,000 after purchasing an additional 24,097 shares during the period. 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 in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP bought a new position in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter valued at $129,480,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Lamb Weston by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,951,025 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $126,309,000 after acquiring an additional 468,190 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LW shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup cut Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 1.9 %

LW stock opened at $55.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.72. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.99 and a twelve month high of $107.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.46.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. 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 presently 58.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

In other news, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.