Palouse Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Palouse Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 68.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,022 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,203 shares during the period. Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $68,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $129,480,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Lamb Weston by 108.7% during the 3rd quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,107,929 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $201,207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,618,570 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $86,883,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,382,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Lamb Weston by 9.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,221,665 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $402,791,000 after acquiring an additional 549,812 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on LW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. 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 report on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup downgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was acquired 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 trade represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt acquired 1,200 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $63.25 per share, with a total value 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 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 Stock Performance

Lamb Weston stock opened at $58.47 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.34 billion, a PE ratio of 23.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $64.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.49. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.99 and a 12 month high of $107.50.

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 business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. Research analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 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.