Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Director Jana Partners Management, Lp Acquires 100,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Jana Partners bought 100,000 Lamb Weston shares on April 8 at $41.41 (and 136,000 shares on April 7 at $40.89), spending about $9.7 million total and boosting its stake to roughly 5.25 million shares.
• Lamb Weston beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $0.72 versus $0.61 expected and revenue of $1.56 billion versus $1.49 billion, with revenue up 2.9% year-over-year.
• The company declared a $0.38 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.52, yield ~3.7%), while analysts maintain an average rating of Hold and a $48 price target amid recent downward revisions by several firms.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) Director Jana Partners Management, Lp purchased 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $41.41 per share, for a total transaction of $4,141,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,248,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at $217,360,261.80. This trade represents a 1.94% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Jana Partners Management, Lp also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, April 7th, Jana Partners Management, Lp acquired 136,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $40.89 per share, with a total value of $5,561,040.00.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of LW stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $41.61. 2,133,729 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,249,375. Lamb Weston has a 52-week low of $37.62 and a 52-week high of $67.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The company has a market cap of $5.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $44.80 and a 200 day moving average of $51.41.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during 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%.Lamb Weston's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Lamb Weston's payout ratio is 71.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on Lamb Weston from $55.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.00.

Institutional Trading of Lamb Weston

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LW. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,679,203 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $698,692,000 after purchasing an additional 43,766 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 27.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,824,690 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $411,558,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111,874 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake 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 worth $300,812,000 after purchasing an additional 63,865 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $147,536,000 after purchasing an additional 21,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 2.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,286,305 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $190,869,000 after buying an additional 79,257 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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