Grandfield & Dodd LLC Acquires 44,564 Shares of Lamb Weston $LW

Key Points

• Grandfield & Dodd LLC increased its Lamb Weston stake by 26.4% in the fourth quarter, adding 44,564 shares to reach 213,409 shares worth about $8.94 million.
• Several insiders were active buyers, including Jana Partners Management buying 136,000 shares and Director Peter J. Bensen buying 5,000 shares; insiders purchased 391,000 shares over the last 90 days.
• Lamb Weston reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.72 on revenue of $1.56 billion, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, yielding about 3.5% annually.

Grandfield & Dodd LLC boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 26.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 213,409 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 44,564 shares during the quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC owned 0.15% of Lamb Weston worth $8,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in Lamb Weston by 115.5% in the 3rd 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. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Lamb Weston by 380.7% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 721 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Stance Capital LLC bought a new position in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Tema Etfs LLC bought a new position in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 bought at an average cost of $40.89 per share, with a total value of $5,561,040.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,148,980 shares in the company, valued at $210,541,792.20. This trade represents a 2.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 cost of $39.45 per share, for a total transaction of $197,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 17,204 shares in the company, valued at $678,697.80. This trade represents a 40.97% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 391,000 shares of company stock worth $16,270,790. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on LW shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Stephens began coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Wednesday. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $46.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on Lamb Weston from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.82.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 0.7%

Lamb Weston stock opened at $43.21 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.78. The company has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.19, a P/E/G ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 0.47. Lamb Weston has a 52-week low of $37.62 and a 52-week high of $67.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

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

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.03%.

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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