Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Raises Stake in Lamb Weston $LW

Key Points

• Dana Investment Advisors increased its Lamb Weston stake by 44.8% in the fourth quarter, lifting its holdings to 89,991 shares worth about $3.77 million.
• Lamb Weston reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.72 versus $0.61 expected and revenue of $1.56 billion versus $1.49 billion anticipated.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, which implies an annualized yield of about 3.4%; meanwhile, several analysts trimmed price targets and the stock’s consensus rating remains Hold.

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 44.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 89,991 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 27,835 shares during the quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Lamb Weston worth $3,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 115.5% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 446 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston in the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Tema Etfs LLC purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company's stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of LW stock opened at $44.12 on Monday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $37.62 and a fifty-two week high of $67.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.06. The company has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.62, a PEG ratio of 6.37 and a beta of 0.47.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.11. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 4.61%.The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is currently 71.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on LW. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on Lamb Weston from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Three investment 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Peter J. Bensen bought 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $39.45 per share, for a total transaction of $197,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 17,204 shares in the company, valued at $678,697.80. The trade was a 40.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp bought 136,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $40.89 per share, with a total value of $5,561,040.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,148,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at $210,541,792.20. This represents a 2.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 391,000 shares of company stock valued at $16,270,790. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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