Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in Lamb Weston $LW

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,528,402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 21,256 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.54% of Lamb Weston worth $147,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LW. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 29.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 185,038 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $9,862,000 after buying an additional 42,039 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,355 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $872,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,490 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 567 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 405.9% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 256,794 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $13,548,000 after buying an additional 206,034 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 70.7% during the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 18,116 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $939,000 after buying an additional 7,503 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Peter J. Bensen purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $39.45 per share, with a total value of $197,250.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 17,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $678,697.80. This represents a 40.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp purchased 136,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $40.89 per share, with a total value of $5,561,040.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,148,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $210,541,792.20. This trade represents a 2.71% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought a total of 391,000 shares of company stock valued at $16,270,790 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of LW opened at $42.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a PEG ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $42.48 and a 200-day moving average of $46.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. Lamb Weston has a 52 week low of $37.62 and a 52 week high of $67.07.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.11. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 4.61%.The company had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 71.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Lamb Weston from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lamb Weston from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Stephens started coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.82.

Lamb Weston Company 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.