JANA Partners Management LP Purchases 386,000 Shares of Lamb Weston $LW

JANA Partners Management LP raised its position in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,394,635 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 386,000 shares during the period. Lamb Weston comprises 12.2% of JANA Partners Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. JANA Partners Management LP’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $232,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LW. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 29.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 185,038 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $9,862,000 after purchasing an additional 42,039 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Lamb Weston by 3.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,355 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $872,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,490 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 405.9% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 256,794 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $13,548,000 after buying an additional 206,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 70.7% during the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 18,116 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $939,000 after buying an additional 7,503 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of LW stock opened at $50.47 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $50.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.93. Lamb Weston has a one year low of $37.62 and a one year high of $67.07.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 4.39% and a return on equity of 23.33%. Lamb Weston’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. Lamb Weston has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.950-3.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lamb Weston from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Lamb Weston from $42.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Lamb Weston from $40.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Lamb Weston from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Lamb Weston from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.36.

About Lamb Weston

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.