Alberta Investment Management Corp Sells 33,300 Shares of Lamb Weston $LW

Alberta Investment Management Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 358,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 33,300 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp owned about 0.26% of Lamb Weston worth $20,816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the second quarter valued at approximately $400,000. Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 86.1% in the 3rd quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 960,639 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $55,859,000 after buying an additional 444,328 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 29.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 912,668 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,322,000 after buying an additional 207,210 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,611,000. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 1,279,345 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $74,304,000 after buying an additional 212,504 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of LW opened at $48.89 on Thursday. 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 has a twelve month low of $39.79 and a twelve month high of $67.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.59, a P/E/G ratio of 7.19 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $46.45 and a 200-day moving average of $54.40.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 27.71%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 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 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on LW. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Lamb Weston from $63.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Bank of America cut their price objective on Lamb Weston from $66.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

Insider Activity at Lamb Weston

In related news, insider Jan Eli B. Craps acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $48.65 per share, for a total transaction of $2,432,500.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 300,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,595,000. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Lamb Weston

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.