Lamb Weston $LW Shares Acquired by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 211.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 325,898 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 221,274 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.24% of Lamb Weston worth $13,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 44.2% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 380.7% during 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 during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 121.1% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in Lamb Weston by 4,512.0% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 1,153 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company's stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

LW stock opened at $53.63 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.63. Lamb Weston has a 52 week low of $37.62 and a 52 week high of $67.07. The stock has a market cap of $7.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.24. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 4.39% and a return on equity of 23.33%. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Lamb Weston has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.950-3.250 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is currently 73.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LW shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $40.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Lamb Weston from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.36.

Lamb Weston Company 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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