Lamb Weston $LW Shares Sold by First National Advisers LLC

First National Advisers LLC lowered its stake in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 60.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,530 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 30,226 shares during the period. First National Advisers LLC’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $1,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 49,827 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,894,000 after acquiring an additional 2,950 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 12,723 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 86.1% during the third quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 960,639 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $55,859,000 after purchasing an additional 444,328 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 17.9% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 7,203 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares during the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Lamb Weston stock opened at $43.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 6.63 and a beta of 0.45. Lamb Weston has a 12-month low of $39.79 and a 12-month high of $67.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $51.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.45.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 27.71%. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a $0.38 dividend. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LW shares. Barclays cut their price target on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Lamb Weston from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $66.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.18.

Lamb Weston Profile

Lamb Weston, traded on the NYSE under the symbol LW, is a leading global processor and supplier of frozen potato products. The company’s portfolio includes a variety of potato-based items such as French fries, potato wedges, hash browns and specialty cuts tailored to the foodservice and retail grocery channels. Lamb Weston serves quick-service restaurants, full-service operators, grocery chains and food distributors, offering customized product formats, packaging solutions and seasoning options to meet evolving customer demands.

Founded in 1950 and headquartered in Eagle, Idaho, Lamb Weston has grown from a regional processor into one of the world’s largest producers of frozen potato products.