Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 3,927 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 165,953 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,927 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $10,744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter valued at $129,480,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 108.7% in the 3rd quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,107,929 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $201,207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,618,570 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth about $86,883,000. TPG GP A LLC lifted its stake in Lamb Weston by 74.4% in the second quarter. TPG GP A LLC now owns 2,924,230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $245,869,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 78.5% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,888,556 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $158,790,000 after buying an additional 830,511 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,453,611.50. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lowered Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LW opened at $67.00 on Monday. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.99 and a 52 week high of $111.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market cap of $9.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $75.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.64.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 34.33% and a net margin of 9.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.45 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is presently 58.50%.

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.