LPL Financial LLC Grows Position in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 15.6%, owning 193,932 shares valued at approximately $10.34 million following the purchase of additional shares.
• Lamb Weston recently reported EPS of $0.87 for the quarter, surpassing estimates, along with revenue of $1.68 billion, signaling a 4% year-over-year growth.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.37, representing a yield of 2.9%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 1st.

LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 15.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 193,932 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 26,180 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.14% of Lamb Weston worth $10,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 3,466.7% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 535 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. CX Institutional bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the first quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Acuitas Investments LLC raised its position in Lamb Weston by 239.3% in the first quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 950 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company's stock.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 1.3%

LW traded down $0.66 on Friday, reaching $51.46. 1,064,727 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,768,497. Lamb Weston has a one year low of $47.87 and a one year high of $83.98. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.03. The company has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12.

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

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Lamb Weston's payout ratio is currently 58.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on LW shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note 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. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Lamb Weston has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $67.40.

Lamb Weston Profile

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.