Bernzott Capital Advisors Buys 26,207 Shares of Lamb Weston $LW

Key Points

• Bernzott Capital Advisors increased its Lamb Weston stake by 22.2% in Q1, buying 26,207 shares and bringing its total holding to 144,260 shares worth about $6.1 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy in Lamb Weston, with several large funds making notable moves and institutions owning 89.56% of the company’s shares overall.
• Analysts are mixed but mostly cautious on the stock: the consensus rating is “Hold,” with a consensus price target of $48.91, while Lamb Weston traded down 1.9% and opened at $45.23.

Bernzott Capital Advisors lifted its stake in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 22.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 144,260 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 26,207 shares during the period. Lamb Weston comprises approximately 2.9% of Bernzott Capital Advisors' holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Bernzott Capital Advisors owned approximately 0.10% of Lamb Weston worth $6,096,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LW. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter valued at $125,662,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 45,177.0% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,835,245 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $118,768,000 after purchasing an additional 2,828,983 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 27.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,824,690 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $411,558,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111,874 shares during the last quarter. Ion Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 2nd quarter worth about $84,379,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 2,682.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 801,708 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $33,584,000 after buying an additional 772,893 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.91.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 1.9%

LW opened at $45.23 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.88. Lamb Weston has a fifty-two week low of $37.62 and a fifty-two week high of $67.07. The company has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $43.19 per share, with a total value of $2,159,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,398,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $233,181,946.20. The trade was a 0.93% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Lamb Weston Company 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.

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