Sunbelt Securities Inc. Makes New Investment in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 593 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $63,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 17.6% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 117,254 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $10,841,000 after acquiring an additional 17,548 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 65,688 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,074,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 107.0% during the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,712 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,175,000 after purchasing an additional 6,571 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Lamb Weston by 15.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 13,590 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,257,000 after buying an additional 1,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 60.9% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 60,321 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,577,000 after buying an additional 22,821 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $132.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $128.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $138.00 to $113.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, March 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $128.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.40.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of LW stock opened at $84.08 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $85.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.14 billion, a PE ratio of 11.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.75. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.41 and a 52-week high of $117.38.

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

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.