Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Makes New $17.74 Million Investment in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 211,038 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $17,744,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned 0.15% of Lamb Weston at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of LW. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,043 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $189,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 998,572 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $107,936,000 after buying an additional 27,253 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,671 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 34,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,725,000 after buying an additional 7,028 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on LW shares. Consumer Edge cut Lamb Weston from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus cut Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $115.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $132.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $106.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Lamb Weston from $108.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.70.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of LW stock opened at $64.17 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92. The business’s fifty day moving average is $64.75 and its 200 day moving average is $80.75. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.99 and a twelve month high of $111.88. The stock has a market cap of $9.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.57, a PEG ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 0.75.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.24 by ($0.46). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 44.06% and a net margin of 11.22%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Research analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 4.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William G. Jurgensen bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $55.43 per share, with a total value of $554,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 173,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,610,287.11. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

About Lamb Weston

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.