Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Shares Bought by Provident Investment Management Inc.

Provident Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 2,535.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 293,086 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 281,966 shares during the period. Lamb Weston makes up approximately 1.9% of Provident Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Provident Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $19,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LW. West Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 155.7% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. This trade represents a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

LW stock opened at $59.50 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 capitalization of $8.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.60. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $47.90 and a 52-week high of $89.51.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. Lamb Weston’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LW shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup downgraded Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Lamb Weston from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.55.

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.