SG Americas Securities LLC Trims Holdings in Lamb Weston $LW

SG Americas Securities LLC lowered its stake in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 65.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 276,116 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 525,592 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $11,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LW. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 29.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 185,038 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $9,862,000 after acquiring an additional 42,039 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,355 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $872,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,490 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 405.9% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 256,794 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $13,548,000 after purchasing an additional 206,034 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 70.7% in the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 18,116 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $939,000 after purchasing an additional 7,503 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of LW opened at $45.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.47. Lamb Weston has a 12-month low of $37.62 and a 12-month high of $67.07. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $43.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.11. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. Lamb Weston’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on LW. Stephens started coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.82.

Insider Activity at Lamb Weston

In other news, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp bought 136,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $40.89 per share, with a total value of $5,561,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,148,980 shares in the company, valued at $210,541,792.20. This trade represents a 2.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter J. Bensen purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.45 per share, for a total transaction of $197,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 17,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $678,697.80. This represents a 40.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 391,000 shares of company stock worth $16,270,790. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Company 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.