Lamb Weston $LW Shares Sold by SG Americas Securities LLC

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC cut its Lamb Weston stake by 65.6% in the first quarter, selling 525,592 shares and leaving it with 276,116 shares worth about $11.7 million.
• Several Wall Street firms recently lowered their price targets on Lamb Weston, and the stock now has a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $47.82.
• Lamb Weston reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.72 versus estimates of $0.61 and revenue of $1.56 billion, while insiders have also been buying shares in recent months.

SG Americas Securities LLC decreased its position in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 65.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 276,116 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 525,592 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.20% of Lamb Weston worth $11,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 44.2% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 649 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Lamb Weston by 380.7% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 721 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Lamb Weston by 121.1% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Stance Capital LLC purchased a new position in Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on LW. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on Lamb Weston from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of Lamb Weston from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $55.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Peter J. Bensen purchased 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $39.45 per share, with a total value of $197,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 17,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $678,697.80. This represents a 40.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $43.19 per share, for a total transaction of $2,159,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,398,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at $233,181,946.20. The trade was a 0.93% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought 391,000 shares of company stock valued at $16,270,790 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of Lamb Weston stock opened at $45.17 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.76. Lamb Weston has a 12 month low of $37.62 and a 12 month high of $67.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.11, a PEG ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.47. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period 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. As a group, analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

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

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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