Staley Capital Advisers Inc. Takes $1.05 Million Position in Lamb Weston $LW

Key Points

• Staley Capital Advisers opened a new position in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter, buying 25,000 shares worth about $1.05 million.
• Several insiders and hedge funds have also been buying LW shares, including Jana Partners Management’s 136,000-share purchase and Peter J. Bensen’s 5,000-share buy, suggesting continued institutional interest.
• Lamb Weston recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, but analysts remain cautious overall, with a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $48.

Staley Capital Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 25,000 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,047,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LW. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 29.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 185,038 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $9,862,000 after acquiring an additional 42,039 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,355 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $872,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,490 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 405.9% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 256,794 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $13,548,000 after acquiring an additional 206,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 70.7% during the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 18,116 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $939,000 after acquiring an additional 7,503 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $48.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of LW opened at $44.12 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.37 and a beta of 0.47. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $42.35 and its 200-day moving average is $48.18.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 4.61%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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