Ethic Inc. Sells 10,811 Shares of Lamb Weston $LW

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. reduced its stake in Lamb Weston by 29.5% during the first quarter, now holding 25,791 shares valued at approximately $1.375 million.
• Various institutional investors have recently increased their stakes in Lamb Weston, with Citigroup boosting its investment by a striking 324.4% in the first quarter.
• Lamb Weston announced a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, which reflects an annualized dividend yield of 2.7% and a payout ratio of 58.96%.

Ethic Inc. lowered its holdings in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 29.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,791 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 10,811 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $1,375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. JANA Partners Management LP increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. JANA Partners Management LP now owns 7,131,339 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $476,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,302,585 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 324.4% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,126,982 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $60,068,000 after purchasing an additional 861,417 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 25.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,055,902 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $216,180,000 after purchasing an additional 829,207 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at $42,752,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,016,944 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $201,624,000 after purchasing an additional 503,095 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LW traded down $0.5240 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $54.6660. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,361,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,823,171. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $53.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Lamb Weston has a fifty-two week low of $47.87 and a fifty-two week high of $83.98. The company has a market capitalization of $7.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.49.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.23. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 5.54% and a return on equity of 27.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Lamb Weston has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is 58.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 target price on shares of Lamb Weston and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Lamb Weston in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.30.

About Lamb Weston

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.