Quantbot Technologies LP Buys New Shares in Lamb Weston $LW

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 41,924 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,435,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 115.5% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 446 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Motco acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 333.3% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 637 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 519.9% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 843 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:LW opened at $46.91 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $45.30 and its 200-day moving average is $54.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.43. Lamb Weston has a 52 week low of $39.79 and a 52 week high of $67.07. The company has a market capitalization of $6.51 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 6.98 and a beta of 0.43.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 27.71%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. Equities 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 was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $66.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $63.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Insider Activity at Lamb Weston

In other Lamb Weston news, insider Jan Eli B. Craps purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $48.65 per share, for a total transaction of $2,432,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 300,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,595,000. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.