Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 37,447 Shares of Lamb Weston $LW

Baird Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 487,103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 37,447 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $25,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,072,932 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $909,987,000 after purchasing an additional 426,045 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 49.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,500,503 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $239,877,000 after buying an additional 1,483,559 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 25.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,055,902 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $216,180,000 after acquiring an additional 829,207 shares in the last quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 21.1% in the 1st quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,721,559 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $198,359,000 after acquiring an additional 648,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lamb Weston in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $119,413,000. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 0.0%

LW opened at $59.73 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.81. The company has a market capitalization of $8.32 billion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.44. Lamb Weston has a 1-year low of $47.87 and a 1-year high of $83.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 28.08% and a net margin of 4.56%.The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on LW shares. BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on Lamb Weston from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $66.00 price objective on Lamb Weston in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Zacks Research raised Lamb Weston from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Cfra Research raised shares of Lamb Weston to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.70.

Lamb Weston 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.