Short Interest in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Declines By 25.7%

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,700,000 shares, a drop of 25.7% from the February 28th total of 10,370,000 shares. Currently, 5.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,910,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Insider Activity at Lamb Weston

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamb Weston

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LW. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 230,314 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $15,392,000 after purchasing an additional 20,634 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Lamb Weston by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,172 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $680,000 after buying an additional 2,090 shares during the last quarter. Keystone Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter valued at $623,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH purchased a new position in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth $823,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter worth $3,453,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 0.1 %

LW stock opened at $53.95 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $55.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Lamb Weston has a 12 month low of $47.90 and a 12 month high of $105.55.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 58.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LW shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on 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 initiated coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.55.

About Lamb Weston

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.