Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Buys Shares of 39,163 Lamb Weston $LW

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 39,163 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,275,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its position in Lamb Weston by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 36,295 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,108,000 after purchasing an additional 5,238 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,689 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,639,000 after purchasing an additional 6,670 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth about $290,000. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 6.3% in the third quarter. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 49,827 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,894,000 after buying an additional 2,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 6.6% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 12,723 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $739,000 after buying an additional 793 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of LW opened at $43.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.13. Lamb Weston has a twelve month low of $39.79 and a twelve month high of $67.07.

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

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LW. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Lamb Weston from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $48.00 target price on Lamb Weston in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Cfra Research raised Lamb Weston to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

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.