Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Shares Sold by Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 60.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 163,295 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 247,939 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.11% of Lamb Weston worth $10,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LW. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 155.7% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston in the third quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.73.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. This trade represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,453,611.50. This trade 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of Lamb Weston stock opened at $50.98 on Friday. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.90 and a 52 week high of $107.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $57.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.44. The stock has a market cap of $7.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 58.50%.

Lamb Weston Company 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.