Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $8.71 Million Stake in Lamb Weston $LW

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 149,896 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 18,604 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $8,706,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LW. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 115.5% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 446 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Motco acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 333.3% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 637 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City State Bank increased its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 86.8% in the 2nd quarter. City State Bank now owns 779 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jan Eli B. Craps acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $48.65 per share, with a total value of $2,432,500.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 300,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,595,000. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of LW opened at $50.28 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $47.24 and its 200-day moving average is $54.67. Lamb Weston has a 12 month low of $39.79 and a 12 month high of $67.07. The firm has a market cap of $6.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 27.71%. Lamb Weston’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LW has been the subject of several research reports. BNP Paribas Exane set a $48.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $63.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Lamb Weston from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

Lamb Weston Company 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.