London Co. of Virginia Cuts Stake in Lamb Weston $LW

Key Points

• London Co. of Virginia reduced its Lamb Weston stake by 13% in the fourth quarter, selling 310,220 shares and leaving it with about 2.08 million shares valued at roughly $87.1 million.
• Insiders were buying shares: Director Peter J. Bensen and Jana Partners Management both made notable purchases, and insiders bought 391,000 shares worth about $16.27 million over the last quarter.
• Analysts remain cautious on LW, with multiple firms cutting price targets; the stock’s consensus rating is Hold with an average target price of $47.82.

London Co. of Virginia cut its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,078,791 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 310,220 shares during the quarter. London Co. of Virginia owned about 1.50% of Lamb Weston worth $87,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in Lamb Weston by 2.0% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 9,685 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,718 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 3,101 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 115.5% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 446 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Peter J. Bensen bought 5,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction on Monday, April 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $39.45 per share, for a total transaction of $197,250.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 17,204 shares in the company, valued at $678,697.80. This represents a 40.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp bought 50,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director owned 5,398,980 shares in the company, valued at $233,181,946.20. This represents a 0.93% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 391,000 shares of company stock worth $16,270,790. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $55.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $47.82.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of LW stock opened at $45.04 on Wednesday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $43.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.46. Lamb Weston has a one year low of $37.62 and a one year high of $67.07. The firm has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.04, a P/E/G ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.47.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

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