Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,540,000 shares, a decrease of 15.1% from the March 15th total of 7,700,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,900,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 4.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Lamb Weston

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. West Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 155.7% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 3,466.7% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of LW opened at $53.45 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $53.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.48. Lamb Weston has a 52 week low of $47.90 and a 52 week high of $89.51.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LW. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Lamb Weston from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.27.

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.