Lamb Weston $LW Position Reduced by Trillium Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Trillium Asset Management reduced its Lamb Weston stake by 15.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 33,785 shares and leaving it with 181,260 shares worth about $7.74 million.
• Lamb Weston reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.72 versus $0.61 expected and revenue of $1.56 billion versus $1.49 billion expected, with revenue up 2.9% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, implying an annualized yield of 3.4%, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a $47.82 price target.

Trillium Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 15.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 181,260 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 33,785 shares during the quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC owned 0.13% of Lamb Weston worth $7,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 2.0% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 9,685 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 649 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 6.5% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,718 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 3,101 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of LW stock opened at $45.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.01 and a beta of 0.47. Lamb Weston has a one year low of $37.62 and a one year high of $67.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $42.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

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

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

In other news, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp bought 136,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $40.89 per share, with a total value of $5,561,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter J. Bensen bought 5,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $39.45 per share, with a total value of $197,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at $678,697.80. This trade represents a 40.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 391,000 shares of company stock valued at $16,270,790. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LW shares. Stephens started coverage on Lamb Weston in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced 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. Weiss Ratings cut Lamb Weston from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Bank of America reduced 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $47.82.

Lamb Weston Profile

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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