Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in Lamb Weston $LW

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 39,163 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,275,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 64.2% during the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 537 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. now owns 1,772 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 6,056 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. CX Institutional lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 28.7% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,165 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,138 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE LW opened at $43.71 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Lamb Weston has a 12 month low of $39.79 and a 12 month high of $67.07. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $50.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.13.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 27.71%. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $66.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

Lamb Weston Company Profile

Lamb Weston, traded on the NYSE under the symbol LW, is a leading global processor and supplier of frozen potato products. The company’s portfolio includes a variety of potato-based items such as French fries, potato wedges, hash browns and specialty cuts tailored to the foodservice and retail grocery channels. Lamb Weston serves quick-service restaurants, full-service operators, grocery chains and food distributors, offering customized product formats, packaging solutions and seasoning options to meet evolving customer demands.

Founded in 1950 and headquartered in Eagle, Idaho, Lamb Weston has grown from a regional processor into one of the world’s largest producers of frozen potato products.