Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 42,709 Shares of Lamb Weston $LW

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 8.7%, purchasing 42,709 shares to hold 535,602 shares (about 0.38% of the company) worth roughly $31.1 million.
• Dividend and results: Lamb Weston increased its quarterly dividend to $0.38 (annualized $1.52, yield 3.4%) and beat expectations this quarter with EPS of $0.69 and revenue of $1.62 billion.
• Institutional and insider activity: Multiple large funds (Norges Bank, Arrowstreet, Dimensional, Liberty One) added or built sizeable positions—institutional ownership is ~89.6%—and insider Jan Eli B. Craps bought 50,000 shares, raising his holding to 300,000 shares.

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 535,602 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 42,709 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.38% of Lamb Weston worth $31,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the 2nd quarter worth about $119,413,000. Ion Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 2nd quarter worth about $84,379,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 989.7% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 704,239 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $36,515,000 after purchasing an additional 639,615 shares during the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 86.1% during the 3rd quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 960,639 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $55,859,000 after purchasing an additional 444,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Lamb Weston by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,968,872 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $114,320,000 after purchasing an additional 378,264 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of LW stock opened at $44.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.00, a P/E/G ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 0.43. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $45.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.72. Lamb Weston has a one year low of $39.79 and a one year high of $67.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 27.71%. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a boost from Lamb Weston's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on LW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $49.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Lamb Weston from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Lamb Weston from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $48.00 price objective on Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

In other news, insider Jan Eli B. Craps purchased 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $48.65 per share, with a total value of $2,432,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 300,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,595,000. This represents a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Lamb Weston 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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