The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $1.38 Million Stake in Lamb Weston $LW

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 68.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 32,695 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 70,213 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $1,382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Arnhold LLC grew its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 710.2% during the 4th quarter. Arnhold LLC now owns 38,217 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,601,000 after acquiring an additional 33,500 shares in the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 89,991 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,770,000 after purchasing an additional 27,835 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 349.1% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 690,493 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $29,180,000 after purchasing an additional 536,745 shares during the last quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at $1,264,000. Finally, Easterly Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter valued at $3,071,000. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Stephens upped their target price on Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Lamb Weston from $40.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Lamb Weston from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.36.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 0.7%

Lamb Weston stock opened at $51.89 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.95, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.46. Lamb Weston has a 52 week low of $37.62 and a 52 week high of $67.07.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.24. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 23.33% and a net margin of 4.39%.The business had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Lamb Weston has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.950-3.250 EPS. Analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.08%.

About Lamb Weston

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.