Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Director Jana Partners Management, Lp Acquires 136,000 Shares

Key Points

• Jana Partners Management, L.P. bought 136,000 shares on April 7 at $40.89 (~$5.56M) and an additional 100,000 shares on April 8 at $41.41, bringing its stake to 5,148,980 shares valued at about $210.54M — a 2.71% increase in ownership.
• Lamb Weston beat expectations for the quarter with $0.72 EPS vs. $0.61 expected and $1.56B in revenue, and the company declared a $0.38 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.52, ~3.7% yield) with an ex-dividend date of May 8.
• Several analysts have cut price targets recently and the consensus rating is "Hold" with a $48 average target (three Buys vs. ten Holds), signaling cautious sentiment despite the earnings beat.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) Director Jana Partners Management, Lp acquired 136,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $40.89 per share, with a total value of $5,561,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,148,980 shares in the company, valued at $210,541,792.20. This represents a 2.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 Wednesday, April 8th, Jana Partners Management, Lp bought 100,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $41.41 per share, for a total transaction of $4,141,000.00.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LW traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $41.61. 2,133,729 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,249,375. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $44.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.41. The stock has a market cap of $5.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.44, a PEG ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. Lamb Weston has a one year low of $37.62 and a one year high of $67.07.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 191.5% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 471,886 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $19,922,000 after buying an additional 309,995 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 8,903 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 1,842 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Lamb Weston by 53.2% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 31,864 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,335,000 after acquiring an additional 11,063 shares during the last quarter. Walser Wealth Management Company A Ltd Liability Co bought a new stake in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter valued at $221,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 427.5% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 159,008 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $6,661,000 after acquiring an additional 128,862 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Barclays lowered their target price on Lamb Weston from $55.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Three 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, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.00.

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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