Easterly Investment Partners LLC Makes New $3.07 Million Investment in Lamb Weston $LW

Easterly Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 73,316 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,071,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 115.5% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 446 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 380.7% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 721 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth $51,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 47.1% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 953 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Lamb Weston from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Stephens started coverage on Lamb Weston in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Lamb Weston from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

In other news, Director Peter J. Bensen purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $39.45 per share, for a total transaction of $197,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 17,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $678,697.80. The trade was a 40.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $43.19 per share, for a total transaction of $2,159,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,398,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $233,181,946.20. The trade was a 0.93% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought 391,000 shares of company stock worth $16,270,790 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of LW stock opened at $43.21 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $42.37 and its 200-day moving average is $46.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.19, a PEG ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 0.47. Lamb Weston has a 52 week low of $37.62 and a 52 week high of $67.07.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 4.61%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.03%.

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.