Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC Takes $796,000 Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 11,906 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $796,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LW. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $129,480,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 108.7% in the third quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,107,929 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $201,207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,618,570 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in Lamb Weston during the third quarter valued at $86,883,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new stake in Lamb Weston during the third quarter valued at $38,382,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 9.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,221,665 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $402,791,000 after purchasing an additional 549,812 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of LW opened at $52.38 on Tuesday. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $49.28 and a one year high of $107.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $58.45 and its 200-day moving average is $66.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.37 dividend. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 58.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

In related news, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,453,611.50. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LW. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lowered their target price on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup lowered Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Profile

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc produces, distributes, and markets frozen potato products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Global, Foodservice, Retail, and Other. It offers frozen potatoes, commercial ingredients, and appetizers under the Lamb Weston brand, as well as under various customer labels.