Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 2.6%, owning approximately 12.10% of the company, valued at $909.99 million after purchasing an additional 426,045 shares.
• Lamb Weston reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding expectations by $0.23, and had a revenue of $1.68 billion, up 4.0% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, with an annual yield of 2.9%, to be paid on August 29.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,072,932 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 426,045 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.10% of Lamb Weston worth $909,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 3,466.7% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 535 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, CX Institutional bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on LW shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 price target on Lamb Weston and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays raised their price objective on Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Lamb Weston from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lamb Weston from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $67.40.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of Lamb Weston stock traded up $1.74 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $54.71. The stock had a trading volume of 1,936,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,706,313. The firm has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.49. Lamb Weston has a 12 month low of $47.87 and a 12 month high of $83.98. The business's 50-day moving average is $53.66 and its 200 day moving average is $53.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12.

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

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis 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.