Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Stake Raised by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 351,364 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 28,508 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned 0.25% of Lamb Weston worth $23,482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,000. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of LW stock traded down $1.34 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $52.57. The company had a trading volume of 194,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,647,372. The company has a market capitalization of $7.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.35. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $47.90 and a twelve month high of $89.51. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $53.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.27.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. Lamb Weston's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Lamb Weston's payout ratio is 58.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on LW. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $69.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 target price on Lamb Weston and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Lamb Weston from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $69.91.

Lamb Weston Company Profile

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.