New York State Common Retirement Fund Trims Stock Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 92,666 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 16,045 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $10,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Lamb Weston by 406.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 934,530 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $86,407,000 after purchasing an additional 750,033 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 277.2% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 566,553 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $61,238,000 after buying an additional 416,339 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 121.7% during the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 746,424 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $69,014,000 after buying an additional 409,810 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 115.8% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 639,798 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $59,156,000 after buying an additional 343,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $24,254,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 1.3 %

LW opened at $82.22 on Thursday. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $77.41 and a one year high of $117.38. The company has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.98, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s fifty day moving average is $94.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.40. 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 (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 4th. The specialty retailer reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by ($0.20). Lamb Weston had a net margin of 16.71% and a return on equity of 50.74%. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.43 earnings per share. Lamb Weston’s revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is currently 19.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on LW shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on Lamb Weston from $132.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Monday, March 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $128.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America dropped their target price on Lamb Weston from $138.00 to $113.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Lamb Weston from $128.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Lamb Weston from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.40.

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.