Alliancebernstein L.P. Reduces Stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 59.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 545,865 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 785,322 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.38% of Lamb Weston worth $36,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LW. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,223 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Lamb Weston by 5.4% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,649 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in Lamb Weston by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 7,130 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,901 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $595,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com raised Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.09.

Insider Activity at Lamb Weston

In related news, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. This trade represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of LW stock opened at $59.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.36, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.90 and a 52 week high of $89.51.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.50%.

Lamb Weston 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.