Atlas FRM LLC Purchases Shares of 305,000 Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Atlas FRM LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 305,000 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $20,383,000. Lamb Weston accounts for about 1.9% of Atlas FRM LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Atlas FRM LLC owned approximately 0.21% of Lamb Weston at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LW. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,646,887 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,112,511,000 after purchasing an additional 58,066 shares during the last quarter. JANA Partners Management LP grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. JANA Partners Management LP now owns 7,131,339 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $476,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,302,585 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $423,270,000. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,477,165 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $232,330,000 after acquiring an additional 735,901 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,436,604 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $229,065,000 after buying an additional 48,548 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

LW traded down $0.61 during trading on Friday, reaching $51.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,444,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,652,426. The company has a market cap of $7.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.36, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.36. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.90 and a 1 year high of $89.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 3rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.23. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Lamb Weston from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.64.

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.