AGF Management Ltd. Sells 462 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

AGF Management Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,992 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 462 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LW. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in 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 last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on LW. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, December 16th. 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 MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of LW opened at $50.98 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.15, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $47.90 and a 1-year high of $107.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

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

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 58.50%.

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.