Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Makes New $71,000 Investment in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 666 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $71,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,842,751 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $199,183,000 after acquiring an additional 241,848 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 6.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,473,873 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $136,274,000 after buying an additional 93,127 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,167,446 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $126,189,000 after buying an additional 21,981 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 998,572 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $107,936,000 after acquiring an additional 27,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter worth approximately $93,553,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LW shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $132.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Lamb Weston from $128.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, March 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $128.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.40.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of LW traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $85.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 423,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,107,377. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.41 and a fifty-two week high of $117.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $85.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 4th. The specialty retailer reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.40 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 16.71% and a return on equity of 50.74%. Lamb Weston’s quarterly revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Lamb Weston

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.