Lamb Weston $LW Shares Purchased by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 14.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 160,610 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,774 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $6,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LW. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 649 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 380.7% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 721 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the period. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth about $51,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Lamb Weston by 47.1% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 953 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on LW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded Lamb Weston from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

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

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of LW opened at $45.17 on Monday. Lamb Weston has a twelve month low of $37.62 and a twelve month high of $67.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $43.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.47. 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 (NYSE:LW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 4.61%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

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

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.