Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Holdings Lowered by First Financial Bankshares Inc

First Financial Bankshares Inc cut its stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 89,588 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 10,914 shares during the period. First Financial Bankshares Inc owned approximately 0.06% of Lamb Weston worth $5,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter worth $129,480,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in Lamb Weston during the third quarter valued at about $86,883,000. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,477,165 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $232,330,000 after acquiring an additional 735,901 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the third quarter worth about $38,382,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,221,665 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $402,791,000 after acquiring an additional 549,812 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of LW opened at $52.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s 50-day moving average is $56.82 and its 200-day moving average is $66.39. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.90 and a fifty-two week high of $107.50.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released 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). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays dropped their price target on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Lamb Weston in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. The trade was a 12.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price 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. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.