Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Director Jana Partners Management, Lp Purchases 100,000 Shares

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Director Jana Partners Management, Lp bought 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $42.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,212,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 5,348,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $225,299,037.60. This represents a 1.91% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Jana Partners Management, Lp also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, April 15th, Jana Partners Management, Lp bought 50,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $43.19 per share, for a total transaction of $2,159,500.00.
• On Wednesday, April 8th, Jana Partners Management, Lp bought 100,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $41.41 per share, for a total transaction of $4,141,000.00.
• On Tuesday, April 7th, Jana Partners Management, Lp bought 136,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $40.89 per share, for a total transaction of $5,561,040.00.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE LW opened at $43.25 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.21, a PEG ratio of 6.34 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $44.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.46. Lamb Weston has a 52 week low of $37.62 and a 52 week high of $67.07.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 4.61%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 71.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Lamb Weston from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Lamb Weston from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Lamb Weston by 2.0% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 9,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in Lamb Weston by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 649 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. raised its position in Lamb Weston by 13.6% in the third quarter. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. now owns 1,772 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Lamb Weston by 6.5% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,718 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in Lamb Weston by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 3,101 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Company Profile

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.