Strs Ohio Sells 17,004 Shares of Lamb Weston $LW

Strs Ohio reduced its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 5.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 305,217 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 17,004 shares during the period. Strs Ohio owned about 0.22% of Lamb Weston worth $12,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,679,203 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $698,692,000 after acquiring an additional 43,766 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 27.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,824,690 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $411,558,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111,874 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 1.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,801,585 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $300,812,000 after purchasing an additional 63,865 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,528,402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $147,536,000 after purchasing an additional 21,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 2.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,286,305 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $190,869,000 after purchasing an additional 79,257 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on LW shares. Barclays reduced their price target on Lamb Weston from $55.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on Lamb Weston from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lamb Weston from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Peter J. Bensen purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $39.45 per share, for a total transaction of $197,250.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 17,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $678,697.80. This trade represents a 40.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp acquired 136,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were bought 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 owned 5,148,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $210,541,792.20. This represents a 2.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 391,000 shares of company stock worth $16,270,790. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of LW stock opened at $45.93 on Friday. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.34 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a PEG ratio of 6.12 and a beta of 0.47. 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 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 business had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.