Grandfield & Dodd LLC Acquires 55,139 Shares of Lamb Weston $LW

Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 75.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 127,901 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,139 shares during the quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $6,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LW. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 36.2% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,666 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 48.2% during the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,492 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 1,460 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in Lamb Weston by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 198,401 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,575,000 after buying an additional 6,170 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 7.4% during the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 5,605 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Easterly Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 189.0% in the first quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 114,494 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,103,000 after acquiring an additional 74,875 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Lamb Weston stock opened at $57.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a PE ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Lamb Weston has a one year low of $47.87 and a one year high of $83.98. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.09.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 4.56% and a return on equity of 28.08%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $66.00 target price on Lamb Weston in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $65.00 price target on Lamb Weston and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.70.

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.