Boston Partners Sells 107,740 Shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW)

Key Points

• Boston Partners has reduced its stake in Lamb Weston by 3.1%, owning approximately 3,369,425 shares valued at $179.58 million after selling 107,740 shares.
• Lamb Weston reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.87, exceeding estimates of $0.64, with revenue growth of 4.0% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, which will be paid to shareholders on August 29th, indicating a dividend yield of 2.7%.

Boston Partners trimmed its position in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,369,425 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 107,740 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned about 2.39% of Lamb Weston worth $179,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 723,215 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $38,547,000 after buying an additional 135,188 shares in the last quarter. Atlas FRM LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter valued at about $20,383,000. Soviero Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,342,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter valued at about $823,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,059,000. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of LW traded down $0.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $54.17. 1,093,980 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,604,738. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. Lamb Weston has a 1 year low of $47.87 and a 1 year high of $83.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.49. The business's 50-day moving average price is $53.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.87.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.99% and a net margin of 5.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Lamb Weston's payout ratio is 58.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 price target on Lamb Weston and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Lamb Weston from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lamb Weston from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $67.40.

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.