Allianz SE Decreases Stock Holdings in Lamb Weston $LW

Allianz SE reduced its position in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 72.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 6,661 shares during the period. Allianz SE’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 2.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,072,932 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $909,987,000 after buying an additional 426,045 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 49.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,500,503 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $239,877,000 after acquiring an additional 1,483,559 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,055,902 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $216,180,000 after acquiring an additional 829,207 shares during the period. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 21.1% in the 1st quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,721,559 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $198,359,000 after acquiring an additional 648,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gates Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 49.8% during the 1st quarter. Gates Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,016,142 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $107,460,000 after acquiring an additional 670,611 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE LW opened at $56.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. Lamb Weston has a 52-week low of $47.87 and a 52-week high of $83.98.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 4.56% and a return on equity of 28.08%. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter. Equities analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is 70.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on LW shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $66.00 price objective on Lamb Weston in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.70.

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.