Short Interest in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Declines By 25.7%

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,700,000 shares, a decline of 25.7% from the February 28th total of 10,370,000 shares. Approximately 5.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,910,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE LW traded down $0.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $53.26. 2,824,946 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,796,496. Lamb Weston has a twelve month low of $47.90 and a twelve month high of $105.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.81.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.50%.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LW. 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LW. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.55.

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.