Prudential Financial Inc. Boosts Stake in Lamb Weston $LW

Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 7.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,701 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 5,911 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $4,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Lamb Weston during the second quarter worth $25,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 64.2% during the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 537 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 407.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 594 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. City State Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 86.8% in the 2nd quarter. City State Bank now owns 779 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Lamb Weston by 519.9% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 843 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on LW. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $66.00 target price on Lamb Weston in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings lowered Lamb Weston from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.70.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LW opened at $59.62 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.49. Lamb Weston has a fifty-two week low of $47.87 and a fifty-two week high of $83.98. The stock has a market cap of $8.31 billion, a PE ratio of 28.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.90 and a 200-day moving average of $56.68.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 28.08% and a net margin of 4.56%.The business had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.81%.

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.