Successful Portfolios LLC Acquires Shares of 2,013 Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Successful Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,013 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. MJP Associates Inc. ADV bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter worth about $347,000. Family Legacy Inc. boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Family Legacy Inc. now owns 11,157 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,206,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 67.0% during the 4th quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 570,227 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $61,636,000 after acquiring an additional 228,726 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 277.2% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 566,553 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $61,238,000 after acquiring an additional 416,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter valued at $129,000. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LW. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lamb Weston from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, March 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $128.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $132.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.20.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LW traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $106.53. 1,392,997 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,582,329. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $103.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.79. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.25 and a 52 week high of $117.38. The company has a market cap of $15.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.72.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 4th. The specialty retailer reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 63.19% and a net margin of 17.71%. Lamb Weston’s quarterly revenue was up 35.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is presently 18.73%.

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.