Liberty One Investment Management LLC Purchases 306,343 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Liberty One Investment Management LLC raised its position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 697.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 350,268 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 306,343 shares during the quarter. Lamb Weston comprises about 2.5% of Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $23,408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,343 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $892,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter valued at $927,000. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 751.9% during the 4th quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 2,266 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors now owns 101,605 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,790,000 after buying an additional 3,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smith Thornton Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at about $269,000. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:LW opened at $60.14 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.41. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.99 and a 12-month high of $110.61. The firm has a market cap of $8.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.35). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. Lamb Weston’s revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.92%.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In related news, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt acquired 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on LW. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup cut shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

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.