D.A. Davidson & CO. Grows Stock Holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 18.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 69,300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 10,594 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $4,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 155.7% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on LW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 1.0 %

Lamb Weston stock opened at $57.12 on Thursday. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.99 and a 12 month high of $107.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.47. The firm has a market cap of $8.15 billion, a PE ratio of 22.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.72.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate 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 given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. 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 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.