Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Shares Acquired by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 1,854.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,341 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,863 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $786,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Lamb Weston stock opened at $64.84 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.29. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.99 and a 1 year high of $111.88. The company has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 0.75.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.78 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.23%.

Insider Activity

In other Lamb Weston news, Director William G. Jurgensen bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $55.43 per share, with a total value of $554,300.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 173,377 shares in the company, valued at $9,610,287.11. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on LW. Stifel Nicolaus cut Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $115.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Lamb Weston from $98.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $96.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $132.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Consumer Edge cut shares of Lamb Weston from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.70.

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.