Picton Mahoney Asset Management Lowers Stock Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Picton Mahoney Asset Management reduced its position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 13.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 74,065 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 11,724 shares during the quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $8,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Lamb Weston by 19.0% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 20,766 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,920,000 after buying an additional 3,322 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 30,884 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,856,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,188,941 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $109,930,000 after buying an additional 25,252 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 170,034 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $15,721,000 after buying an additional 12,834 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 2.4% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 12,375 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

LW stock traded down $1.94 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $83.16. The company had a trading volume of 1,740,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,277,435. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $92.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.01 billion, a PE ratio of 11.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.79. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.41 and a fifty-two week high of $117.38.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 4th. The specialty retailer reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.40 by ($0.20). Lamb Weston had a net margin of 16.71% and a return on equity of 50.74%. The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on LW shares. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Lamb Weston from $132.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, March 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $128.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Lamb Weston from $128.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.40.

About Lamb Weston

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.