Citigroup Inc. Purchases 861,417 Shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW)

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. significantly increased its holdings in Lamb Weston by 324.4%, acquiring over 861,000 additional shares and bringing its total ownership to approximately 1.1 million shares valued at $60 million.
• Research analysts have mixed views on Lamb Weston, with Wells Fargo raising its price target to $66.00, while Bank of America lowered it to $56.00; the stock currently holds an average rating of "Hold".
• Lamb Weston announced a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.9%, with the dividend set to be paid at the end of August.

Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 324.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,126,982 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 861,417 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.80% of Lamb Weston worth $60,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 3,466.7% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 535 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, CX Institutional acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston in the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LW has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $67.40.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of Lamb Weston stock traded up $1.74 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $54.71. The stock had a trading volume of 1,936,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,393,805. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The company has a market capitalization of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $53.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.97. Lamb Weston has a 52 week low of $47.87 and a 52 week high of $83.98.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.59 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.99% and a net margin of 5.54%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

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

Lamb Weston Company 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.