2,999,818 Shares in Lamb Weston $LW Bought by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,999,818 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $125,662,000. Norges Bank owned about 2.16% of Lamb Weston at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LW. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 380.7% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 721 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Stance Capital LLC bought a new position in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Tema Etfs LLC bought a new position in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $55.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Zacks Research raised Lamb Weston from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.82.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In other news, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp acquired 50,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $43.19 per share, with a total value of $2,159,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,398,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,181,946.20. This represents a 0.93% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter J. Bensen acquired 5,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $39.45 per share, with a total value of $197,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 17,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $678,697.80. This trade represents a 40.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 391,000 shares of company stock worth $16,270,790. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of LW stock opened at $42.37 on Friday. 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. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $42.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.22. The company has a market capitalization of $5.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.47.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.03%.

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.