Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $53.3636.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lamb Weston from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Lamb Weston from $42.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Lamb Weston from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Lamb Weston from $40.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Lamb Weston stock opened at $54.94 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of 26.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.46. Lamb Weston has a 1-year low of $37.62 and a 1-year high of $67.07.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.24. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 4.39% and a return on equity of 23.33%. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Lamb Weston has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.950-3.250 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is 73.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamb Weston

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LW. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 29.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 185,038 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $9,862,000 after buying an additional 42,039 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,355 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $872,000 after buying an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,490 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 405.9% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 256,794 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $13,548,000 after acquiring an additional 206,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 70.7% during the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 18,116 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $939,000 after acquiring an additional 7,503 shares during the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.