American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 79,872 Shares of Lamb Weston $LW

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. has increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 155.7%, owning 131,165 shares valued at approximately $6.99 million.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted their holdings, with Citigroup Inc. leading with a 324.4% increase in shares.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings for Lamb Weston, with three analysts giving it a "Buy" rating while the consensus target price is set at $65.30.

American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 155.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 131,165 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 79,872 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Lamb Weston worth $6,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,072,932 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $909,987,000 after purchasing an additional 426,045 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,055,902 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $216,180,000 after buying an additional 829,207 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,425,510 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $95,267,000 after buying an additional 120,279 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,425,229 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $95,251,000 after buying an additional 265,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,243,560 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $66,282,000 after buying an additional 13,960 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company's stock.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:LW traded down $0.95 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $56.58. The company had a trading volume of 1,345,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,295,008. The stock has a market cap of $7.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.49. Lamb Weston has a one year low of $47.87 and a one year high of $83.98. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.99% and a net margin of 5.54%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. Lamb Weston has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lamb Weston from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays raised their price target on Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lamb Weston from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Bank of America cut their price target on Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.30.

Lamb Weston 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.