Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Has $10.91 Million Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 60.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 163,295 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 247,939 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $10,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. West Oak Capital LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

NYSE:LW opened at $50.98 on Friday. 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 one year low of $47.90 and a one year high of $107.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $57.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.44. The stock has a market cap of $7.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.15, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.50%.

Insider Activity at Lamb Weston

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at $1,609,181.64. The trade was a 12.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. 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 equities research analysts recently issued reports on LW shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com raised Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.73.

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.