Swiss National Bank Lowers Stock Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Swiss National Bank decreased its position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 402,800 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 24,600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $26,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. West Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 155.7% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

NYSE:LW opened at $53.67 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.90 and a 12-month high of $107.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company’s 50-day moving average is $57.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.45.

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

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.37 dividend. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on LW shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,611.50. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. The trade was a 12.82 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lamb Weston 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.