Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Director Purchases $4,212,000.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Jana Partners bought a total of 386,000 Lamb Weston shares across early April (including 100,000 on Apr 13 at $42.12), spending about $16.07M and increasing its stake to 5,348,980 shares (a 1.91% rise) valued at roughly $225.3M.
• Lamb Weston beat Q1 estimates with $0.72 EPS on $1.56B revenue, announced a $0.38 quarterly dividend (3.5% yield), but analysts have trimmed targets and the consensus rating remains Hold with a $48 price target.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) Director Jana Partners Management, Lp acquired 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $42.12 per share, with a total value of $4,212,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,348,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $225,299,037.60. The trade was a 1.91% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

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

• On Wednesday, April 15th, Jana Partners Management, Lp bought 50,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $43.19 per share, for a total transaction of $2,159,500.00.
• On Wednesday, April 8th, Jana Partners Management, Lp bought 100,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $41.41 per share, for a total transaction of $4,141,000.00.
• On Tuesday, April 7th, Jana Partners Management, Lp bought 136,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $40.89 per share, for a total transaction of $5,561,040.00.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of LW traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.25. 2,029,717 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,190,322. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. Lamb Weston has a 1 year low of $37.62 and a 1 year high of $67.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.21, a PEG ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 0.49. The business's 50-day moving average price is $44.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.05.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.11. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 4.61%.The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Lamb Weston's payout ratio is 71.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LW. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Bank of America reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Lamb Weston from $55.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamb Weston

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LW. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 29.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 185,038 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $9,862,000 after buying an additional 42,039 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 3.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,355 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $872,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 19.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,490 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 567 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 405.9% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 256,794 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $13,548,000 after buying an additional 206,034 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 70.7% during the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 18,116 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $939,000 after buying an additional 7,503 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company's stock.

About Lamb Weston

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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