National Bank of Canada FI Boosts Stock Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 40,321 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,679 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $3,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 20.0% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 207,710 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $22,128,000 after acquiring an additional 34,553 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 66.0% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 38,643 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,028,000 after purchasing an additional 15,364 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $810,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the 2nd quarter valued at $7,937,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the first quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of LW opened at $62.66 on Wednesday. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.99 and a 52-week high of $111.88. The stock has a market cap of $9.00 billion, a PE ratio of 8.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $66.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by ($0.46). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 44.06% and a net margin of 11.22%. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Research analysts forecast that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 19.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on LW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $108.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays cut their price target on Lamb Weston from $96.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Lamb Weston from $132.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Lamb Weston from $98.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William G. Jurgensen purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $55.43 per share, with a total value of $554,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 173,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,610,287.11. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.