New York State Common Retirement Fund Boosts Stock Holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 18.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 192,231 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,155 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $12,847,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. West Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 155.7% during the 4th 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. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of Lamb Weston stock opened at $55.76 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.99 and a 1 year high of $107.50. The firm has a market cap of $7.95 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.53.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt acquired 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup lowered Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Lamb Weston in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Company Profile

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.