Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Sells 107,210 Shares of Lamb Weston $LW

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,408,447 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 107,210 shares during the period. Lamb Weston makes up about 2.3% of Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC owned 1.73% of Lamb Weston worth $100,890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in Lamb Weston by 115.5% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 446 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lamb Weston by 44.2% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 649 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Lamb Weston by 380.7% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 721 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Stance Capital LLC bought a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Peter J. Bensen acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $39.45 per share, with a total value of $197,250.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 17,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $678,697.80. This trade represents a 40.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp acquired 136,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $40.89 per share, with a total value of $5,561,040.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 5,148,980 shares in the company, valued at $210,541,792.20. This represents a 2.71% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought a total of 391,000 shares of company stock worth $16,270,790 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LW. Zacks Research raised shares of Lamb Weston from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lamb Weston from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $55.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.82.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LW opened at $45.27 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $42.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 6.01 and a beta of 0.47. Lamb Weston has a one year low of $37.62 and a one year high of $67.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.03%.

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.