Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 3,142 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,743 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,142 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $2,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LW. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 61.4% during the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 4,341 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 1,652 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 19.7% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 7,208 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 1,188 shares in the last quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 40.0% in the 3rd quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 58,749 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,803,000 after purchasing an additional 16,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 5,719 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

NYSE LW opened at $57.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.67, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $64.93 and a 200 day moving average of $67.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.99 and a twelve month high of $107.50.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

In related news, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. This trade represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup downgraded Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Lamb Weston in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

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.