Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Buys 92,500 Shares of Lamb Weston $LW

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. grew its stake in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 99.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 185,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 92,500 shares during the period. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $7,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth approximately $125,662,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in Lamb Weston by 45,177.0% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,835,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $118,768,000 after acquiring an additional 2,828,983 shares during the last quarter. Ion Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $84,379,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Lamb Weston by 2,682.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 801,708 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,584,000 after acquiring an additional 772,893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Lamb Weston by 46.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,150,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $124,872,000 after acquiring an additional 680,000 shares during the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of LW opened at $45.27 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.46. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $42.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.77. Lamb Weston has a 52 week low of $37.62 and a 52 week high of $67.07.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 4.61%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is 71.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on LW. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Lamb Weston in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $46.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp purchased 136,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $40.89 per share, with a total value of $5,561,040.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 5,148,980 shares in the company, valued at $210,541,792.20. This trade represents a 2.71% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Peter J. Bensen purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $39.45 per share, for a total transaction of $197,250.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 17,204 shares in the company, valued at $678,697.80. This trade represents a 40.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders bought 391,000 shares of company stock worth $16,270,790. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Lamb Weston

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.