Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Has $7.77 Million Holdings in Lamb Weston $LW

Key Points

• Adams Diversified Equity Fund nearly doubled its Lamb Weston position in the fourth quarter, boosting its stake by 99.6% to 185,400 shares valued at about $7.77 million.
• Insider buying has been notable, with Director Peter J. Bensen and Jana Partners Management making large purchases; overall insiders bought 391,000 shares worth about $16.27 million last quarter.
• Analysts remain cautious on Lamb Weston, with multiple firms cutting price targets and the stock carrying a consensus Hold rating and average target price of $47.82.

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. grew its stake in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 99.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 185,400 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 92,500 shares during the period. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Lamb Weston worth $7,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in LW. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 115.5% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 446 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 44.2% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 649 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 380.7% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 721 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 121.1% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Lamb Weston

In related news, Director Peter J. Bensen acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $39.45 per share, for a total transaction of $197,250.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 17,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $678,697.80. This trade represents a 40.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $43.19 per share, for a total transaction of $2,159,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 5,398,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $233,181,946.20. This trade represents a 0.93% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 391,000 shares of company stock worth $16,270,790. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research raised Lamb Weston from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on Lamb Weston from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $47.82.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of LW opened at $45.27 on Friday. Lamb Weston has a 12-month low of $37.62 and a 12-month high of $67.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16, a P/E/G ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.47. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $42.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.77.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.11. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 4.61%.The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is currently 71.03%.

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.

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