California Public Employees Retirement System Increases Stock Holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 657,296 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,498 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.46% of Lamb Weston worth $71,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LW. Significant Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter worth about $214,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 97.8% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 498,903 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $53,926,000 after buying an additional 246,622 shares during the last quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,808,000. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 42,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,540,000 after acquiring an additional 10,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 629.2% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 31,741 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,431,000 after acquiring an additional 27,388 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LW opened at $84.52 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $96.26 and a 200 day moving average of $98.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company has a market capitalization of $12.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.72. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.41 and a 52 week high of $117.38.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 4th. The specialty retailer reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.40 by ($0.20). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 50.74% and a net margin of 16.71%. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Lamb Weston in a research note on Monday, March 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $128.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Lamb Weston from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $128.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $138.00 to $113.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.40.

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.