National Bank of Canada FI Purchases 11,141 Shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW)

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 15.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 81,428 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 11,141 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.06% of Lamb Weston worth $4,340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Romano Brothers AND Company raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 1.4% in the first quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 15,260 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 2.0% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 10,971 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $585,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 5,873 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 4.0% in the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,984 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Snowden Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,393 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 price target on Lamb Weston and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lamb Weston from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Lamb Weston from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $67.40.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of Lamb Weston stock opened at $54.71 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $53.66 and a 200 day moving average of $53.97. Lamb Weston has a 12 month low of $47.87 and a 12 month high of $83.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

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

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.96%.

About Lamb Weston

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.