Smith Thornton Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 4,025 Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Smith Thornton Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,025 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $269,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. City State Bank raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 56.2% during the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 417 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. West Oak Capital LLC grew its position in Lamb Weston by 155.7% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 143.8% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on LW shares. Barclays decreased their price target on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,982 shares in the company, 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 owned by company insiders.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of LW stock opened at $59.15 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $72.14 and its 200 day moving average is $69.73. 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 cap of $8.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.38, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.73. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.99 and a 52-week high of $110.61.

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

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. 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 dividend yield of 2.50%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.92%.

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.