D.A. Davidson & CO. Decreases Stock Position in Lamb Weston $LW

Key Points

• D.A. Davidson cut its stake in Lamb Weston by 45.1% in Q4, selling 33,754 shares and leaving 41,016 shares worth about $1.72 million.
• Several analysts have trimmed price targets and issued neutral/hold ratings, leaving the consensus analyst rating at "Hold" with an average price target of $48.00.
• Lamb Weston beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, announced a $0.38 quarterly dividend (about a 3.5% yield), and insiders increased holdings, buying roughly 441,000 shares (~$18.7M) over the last quarter.

D.A. Davidson & CO. cut its position in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 45.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,016 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 33,754 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $1,718,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 115.5% in the third 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. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Motco acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 333.3% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 637 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stance Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at $51,000. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lamb Weston from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.00.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:LW opened at $43.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.34 and a beta of 0.47. Lamb Weston has a 1-year low of $37.62 and a 1-year high of $67.07. The company's fifty day moving average is $43.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.61. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is currently 71.03%.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In other news, insider Jan Eli B. Craps purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $48.65 per share, for a total transaction of $2,432,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 300,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,595,000. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter J. Bensen purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $678,697.80. The trade was a 40.97% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 441,000 shares of company stock worth $18,703,290. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

About Lamb Weston

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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