Keating Investment Counselors Inc. Acquires 6,405 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Keating Investment Counselors Inc. raised its position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 15.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,777 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,405 shares during the quarter. Lamb Weston makes up 1.0% of Keating Investment Counselors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Keating Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $3,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,343 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the period. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new position in Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,474,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,618,570 shares during the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 36.0% during the 4th quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 61,950 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,140,000 after acquiring an additional 16,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 39.3% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 156,242 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $10,115,000 after buying an additional 44,057 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Lamb Weston stock opened at $58.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $63.75 and a 200-day moving average of $67.54. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.99 and a 52-week high of $107.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.11, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.72.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is 58.50%.

About Lamb Weston

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.