Expect Equity LLC Takes $2.87 Million Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Expect Equity LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 42,940 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,870,000. Lamb Weston accounts for 3.0% of Expect Equity LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fiduciary Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter valued at $275,000. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 547,651 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,600,000 after acquiring an additional 63,249 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 622,883 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $41,627,000 after acquiring an additional 106,674 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 791,028 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $52,864,000 after purchasing an additional 60,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dean Capital Management grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 19,932 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,332,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on LW. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Lamb Weston from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 price objective on Lamb Weston and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.64.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of LW opened at $51.35 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.77. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $47.90 and a 12 month high of $89.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is currently 58.04%.

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.