Cetera Investment Advisers Boosts Stock Holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 195.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 57,577 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 38,086 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $3,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LW. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth $423,270,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth $96,736,000. JANA Partners Management LP lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. JANA Partners Management LP now owns 7,131,339 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $476,587,000 after buying an additional 1,302,585 shares during the period. Continental Grain Co. purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth $63,786,000. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,477,165 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $232,330,000 after buying an additional 735,901 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on LW. Barclays lowered their target price on Lamb Weston from $69.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. StockNews.com raised Lamb Weston from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Lamb Weston from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $69.91.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Lamb Weston stock traded down $1.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $52.83. The company had a trading volume of 119,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,647,027. The company has a market capitalization of $7.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.46. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.90 and a 12-month high of $89.51. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $53.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. The business's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.04%.

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.