Advantage Trust Co Takes Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Advantage Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 800 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $53,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LW. West Oak Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 155.7% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

LW opened at $55.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock has a market cap of $7.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.72. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.99 and a 12-month high of $107.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $62.21 and a 200-day moving average of $67.39.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at $1,609,181.64. The trade was a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt acquired 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston 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.