UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Acquires 1,797 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 79.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,064 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,797 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter worth approximately $93,553,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its position in Lamb Weston by 117.2% in the 1st quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,230,538 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $131,035,000 after buying an additional 663,985 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. bought a new position in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter valued at $56,699,000. Ninety One UK Ltd purchased a new position in Lamb Weston during the 2nd quarter worth $42,518,000. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 713,414 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $77,113,000 after acquiring an additional 364,851 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Consumer Edge lowered shares of Lamb Weston from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $132.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $108.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen lowered Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $61.00 in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Lamb Weston from $106.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William G. Jurgensen purchased 10,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $55.43 per share, for a total transaction of $554,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 173,377 shares in the company, valued at $9,610,287.11. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 1.5 %

LW stock opened at $63.02 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $67.10 and a 200-day moving average of $82.66. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.99 and a fifty-two week high of $111.88. The company has a market capitalization of $9.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.41, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by ($0.46). The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 44.06% and a net margin of 11.22%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 19.23%.

Lamb Weston Company Profile

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc produces, distributes, and markets frozen potato products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Global, Foodservice, Retail, and Other. It offers frozen potatoes, commercial ingredients, and appetizers under the Lamb Weston brand, as well as under various customer labels.