Mizuho Markets Cayman LP Purchases New Shares in Lamb Weston $LW

Mizuho Markets Cayman LP purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 159,750 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $6,692,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LW. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 29.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 185,038 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $9,862,000 after acquiring an additional 42,039 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,355 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $872,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 567 shares during the period. Amundi grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 405.9% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 256,794 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $13,548,000 after acquiring an additional 206,034 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 70.7% in the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 18,116 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $939,000 after acquiring an additional 7,503 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

In related news, Director Peter J. Bensen purchased 5,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated 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 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp purchased 136,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $40.89 per share, for a total transaction of $5,561,040.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,148,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $210,541,792.20. This trade represents a 2.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 391,000 shares of company stock worth $16,270,790. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of LW opened at $43.67 on Friday. Lamb Weston has a 52-week low of $37.62 and a 52-week high of $67.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $42.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.45. The stock has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 payout ratio is currently 71.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Lamb Weston from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

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.