Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Shares Sold by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL decreased its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,613 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,044 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. West Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of LW stock opened at $53.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $53.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.64. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $47.90 and a one year high of $89.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.23. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is currently 58.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LW. StockNews.com raised Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.27.

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.