Natixis Advisors LLC Has $18.37 Million Position in Lamb Weston $LW

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC cut its Lamb Weston stake by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 96,968 shares and leaving it with 438,634 shares valued at about $18.37 million.
• Insider buying was notable: director Jana Partners Management bought 136,000 shares, and director Peter J. Bensen bought 5,000 shares; insiders have purchased 391,000 shares over the last 90 days.
• Lamb Weston reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.72 and revenue of $1.56 billion, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share.

Natixis Advisors LLC lowered its position in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 18.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 438,634 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 96,968 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.32% of Lamb Weston worth $18,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LW. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Lamb Weston by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,679,203 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $698,692,000 after purchasing an additional 43,766 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Lamb Weston by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,801,585 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $300,812,000 after purchasing an additional 63,865 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Lamb Weston by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,528,402 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $147,536,000 after purchasing an additional 21,256 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Lamb Weston by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,286,305 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $190,869,000 after purchasing an additional 79,257 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $125,662,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp purchased 136,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $40.89 per share, for a total transaction of $5,561,040.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,148,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $210,541,792.20. This represents a 2.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Peter J. Bensen purchased 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $39.45 per share, for a total transaction of $197,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 17,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $678,697.80. This represents a 40.97% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired a total of 391,000 shares of company stock worth $16,270,790 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Lamb Weston stock opened at $42.14 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.69, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.47. Lamb Weston has a 52-week low of $37.62 and a 52-week high of $67.07. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $42.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.20. 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 (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 4.61%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is presently 71.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on LW shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of Lamb Weston from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $47.82.

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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