Arnhold LLC Has $1.60 Million Holdings in Lamb Weston $LW

Key Points

• Arnhold LLC significantly boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 710.2% in the fourth quarter, ending with 38,217 shares valued at about $1.6 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains cautious as several analysts cut price targets, leaving Lamb Weston with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.00.
• Recent earnings topped expectations, with Lamb Weston reporting $0.72 EPS on $1.56 billion in revenue, both above analyst estimates, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share.

Arnhold LLC raised its stake in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 710.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,217 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 33,500 shares during the period. Arnhold LLC's holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $1,601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 115.5% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 446 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 380.7% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 721 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Stance Capital LLC bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Tema Etfs LLC bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LW. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $55.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $48.00.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

NYSE:LW opened at $43.67 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.19 and a 200-day moving average of $47.22. The company has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a PEG ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 0.47. Lamb Weston has a 52 week low of $37.62 and a 52 week high of $67.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.46.

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

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.03%.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In other news, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp bought 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $43.19 per share, for a total transaction of $2,159,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,398,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at $233,181,946.20. This trade represents a 0.93% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Peter J. Bensen bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.45 per share, with a total value of $197,250.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,204 shares in the company, valued at $678,697.80. This represents a 40.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased a total of 391,000 shares of company stock valued at $16,270,790 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lamb Weston Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.