Liberty One Investment Management LLC Grows Holdings in Lamb Weston $LW

Liberty One Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 86.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 960,639 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 444,328 shares during the quarter. Lamb Weston accounts for 3.1% of Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $55,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LW. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 17.9% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 7,203 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 4,448 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its stake in Lamb Weston by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 12,163 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $706,000 after acquiring an additional 2,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new position in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter valued at about $224,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.18.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:LW opened at $41.41 on Tuesday. Lamb Weston has a 52 week low of $39.79 and a 52 week high of $67.07. The company’s 50 day moving average is $53.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.74. The company has a market cap of $5.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.89, a P/E/G ratio of 6.33 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08.

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

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is currently 53.24%.

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.