KBC Group NV Reduces Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

KBC Group NV trimmed its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 13.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,994 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 4,631 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $1,877,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. City State Bank increased its holdings in Lamb Weston by 56.2% in the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 417 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Lamb Weston by 135.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LW shares. Citigroup upped their target price on Lamb Weston from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Consumer Edge lowered Lamb Weston from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Lamb Weston from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Lamb Weston from $132.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.22.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LW opened at $76.77 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.16. The company has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a PE ratio of 18.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.72. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.99 and a 12-month high of $111.88.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 34.33% and a net margin of 9.57%. The business’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.80%.

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.