Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 1,400 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $1,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at approximately $6,474,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,279,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 108.7% during the 3rd quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,107,929 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $201,207,000 after buying an additional 1,618,570 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 36.0% during the fourth quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 61,950 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,140,000 after acquiring an additional 16,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 39.3% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 156,242 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $10,115,000 after acquiring an additional 44,057 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

NYSE:LW opened at $60.14 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.41. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $52.99 and a 1-year high of $110.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.58 billion, a PE ratio of 23.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.73.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In other news, Director Charles A. Blixt acquired 1,200 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,609,181.64. This trade represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.