Argent Trust Co Buys 2,114 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Argent Trust Co raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 65.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,114 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $451,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 248.6% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 244 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Lamb Weston during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 357.5% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 135.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

LW stock opened at $65.61 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $9.47 billion, a PE ratio of 8.76, a P/E/G ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 0.75. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $52.99 and a one year high of $111.88.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released 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 net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 44.06%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. On average, analysts predict that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 4.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is currently 19.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lamb Weston news, Director William G. Jurgensen acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $55.43 per share, with a total value of $554,300.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 173,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,610,287.11. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LW. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $106.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen lowered Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Lamb Weston from $108.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays decreased their price target on Lamb Weston from $96.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.20.

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.