Liberty One Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Lamb Weston $LW

Liberty One Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 86.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 960,639 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 444,328 shares during the period. Lamb Weston accounts for 3.1% of Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Liberty One Investment Management LLC owned about 0.69% of Lamb Weston worth $55,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the second quarter valued at approximately $400,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 29.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 912,668 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $47,322,000 after acquiring an additional 207,210 shares during the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 19.9% during the third quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 1,279,345 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $74,304,000 after purchasing an additional 212,504 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,611,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 291.7% in the 2nd quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 391,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $20,310,000 after purchasing an additional 291,700 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

NYSE:LW opened at $41.41 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $53.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.74. Lamb Weston has a 1-year low of $39.79 and a 1-year high of $67.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, a PEG ratio of 6.33 and a beta of 0.45.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 27.71%. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. Analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Lamb Weston from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Lamb Weston from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $66.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.18.

Lamb Weston Profile

Lamb Weston, traded on the NYSE under the symbol LW, is a leading global processor and supplier of frozen potato products. The company’s portfolio includes a variety of potato-based items such as French fries, potato wedges, hash browns and specialty cuts tailored to the foodservice and retail grocery channels. Lamb Weston serves quick-service restaurants, full-service operators, grocery chains and food distributors, offering customized product formats, packaging solutions and seasoning options to meet evolving customer demands.

Founded in 1950 and headquartered in Eagle, Idaho, Lamb Weston has grown from a regional processor into one of the world’s largest producers of frozen potato products.