Ethic Inc. Grows Stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Ethic Inc. increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 503.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,602 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 30,541 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $2,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LW. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Advantage Trust Co bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at $78,000. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company's stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 3.9%

LW stock traded up $2.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $53.81. The stock had a trading volume of 2,213,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,657,694. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $47.90 and a one 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. The company's 50 day moving average is $53.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.60. The company has a market capitalization of $7.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Lamb Weston's payout ratio is 58.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LW shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $69.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with 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 $69.91.

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.