Capital Research Global Investors Acquires 670,000 Shares of Lamb Weston $LW

Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 31.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,820,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 670,000 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors’ holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $118,130,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,679,203 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $698,692,000 after buying an additional 43,766 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 63,865 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Lamb Weston by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,528,402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $147,536,000 after acquiring an additional 21,256 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Lamb Weston by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,286,305 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $190,869,000 after acquiring an additional 79,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter worth about $125,662,000. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:LW opened at $42.56 on Tuesday. Lamb Weston has a 12-month low of $37.62 and a 12-month high of $67.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.89, a P/E/G ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.03.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.11. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 4.61%.The business had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is 71.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $43.19 per share, for a total transaction of $2,159,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 5,398,980 shares in the company, valued at $233,181,946.20. This trade represents a 0.93% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Peter J. Bensen bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $39.45 per share, with a total value of $197,250.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 17,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $678,697.80. This represents a 40.97% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased a total of 391,000 shares of company stock worth $16,270,790 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on LW. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Stephens initiated coverage on Lamb Weston in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $46.00 target price for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on Lamb Weston from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.82.

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.