Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Purchases 171,862 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 687.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 196,862 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 171,862 shares during the quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Lamb Weston worth $13,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 351,364 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $23,482,000 after acquiring an additional 28,508 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth about $2,314,000. Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 503.9% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 36,602 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,446,000 after purchasing an additional 30,541 shares during the last quarter. Expect Equity LLC acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth $2,870,000. Finally, Fiduciary Trust Co bought a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $275,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company's stock.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of LW traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $51.63. 2,309,970 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,644,149. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50-day moving average of $53.00 and a 200 day moving average of $62.05. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $47.90 and a one year high of $89.51.

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

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders 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 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Lamb Weston 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.