Becker Capital Management Inc. Has $4.50 Million Stock Position in Lamb Weston $LW

Becker Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,462 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 13,913 shares during the period. Becker Capital Management Inc. owned 0.06% of Lamb Weston worth $4,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 115.5% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 446 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Motco acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 333.3% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 637 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 519.9% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 843 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 2.9%

LW stock opened at $46.80 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $45.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Lamb Weston has a fifty-two week low of $39.79 and a fifty-two week high of $67.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 7.19 and a beta of 0.43.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.71% and a net margin of 6.06%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. Analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.68%.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In other Lamb Weston news, insider Jan Eli B. Craps bought 50,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $48.65 per share, with a total value of $2,432,500.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 300,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,595,000. This trade represents a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on LW. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $63.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Lamb Weston from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

About Lamb Weston

Lamb Weston, traded on the NYSE under the symbol LW, is a leading global processor and supplier of frozen potato products. The company’s portfolio includes a variety of potato-based items such as French fries, potato wedges, hash browns and specialty cuts tailored to the foodservice and retail grocery channels. Lamb Weston serves quick-service restaurants, full-service operators, grocery chains and food distributors, offering customized product formats, packaging solutions and seasoning options to meet evolving customer demands.

Founded in 1950 and headquartered in Eagle, Idaho, Lamb Weston has grown from a regional processor into one of the world’s largest producers of frozen potato products.