Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires New Holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 8,800 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $951,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 113.4% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 303 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 24.4% during the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 582 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 17.6% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,084 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 300.6% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,294 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $129,000. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 1.2 %

Lamb Weston stock opened at $83.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.72. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.41 and a fifty-two week high of $117.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $95.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.51.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 4th. The specialty retailer reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.40 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 16.71% and a return on equity of 50.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. Analysts predict that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is currently 19.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LW. StockNews.com downgraded Lamb Weston from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. Barclays lowered their price target on Lamb Weston from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Lamb Weston from $128.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, March 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $128.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Lamb Weston from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.40.

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.