Quantbot Technologies LP Invests $2.44 Million in Lamb Weston $LW

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 41,924 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,435,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LW. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 115.5% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 446 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Motco acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 333.3% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 637 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Lamb Weston

In other news, insider Jan Eli B. Craps purchased 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $48.65 per share, for a total transaction of $2,432,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 300,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,595,000. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

LW stock opened at $46.91 on Wednesday. Lamb Weston has a twelve month low of $39.79 and a twelve month high of $67.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The company has a market cap of $6.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.98 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average is $45.30 and its 200-day moving average is $54.06.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.71% and a net margin of 6.06%.The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on LW shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Lamb Weston from $66.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Lamb Weston from $63.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Lamb Weston 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.