Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $1.45 Million Stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 21,678 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 998 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $1,449,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 35,064 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,343,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter valued at about $19,802,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,932,000. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 2,050.3% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,161 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 3,014 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on LW shares. StockNews.com raised Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

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

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Lamb Weston stock opened at $50.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $47.90 and a one year high of $107.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.47.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Lamb Weston’s quarterly revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.45 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.37 dividend. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is presently 58.50%.

Lamb Weston Company 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.