Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $53.3636.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $40.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Lamb Weston from $42.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:LW opened at $53.42 on Thursday. Lamb Weston has a 52 week low of $37.62 and a 52 week high of $67.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $46.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.24. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 23.33% and a net margin of 4.39%.The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue 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. Research analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is 73.08%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamb Weston

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth approximately $125,662,000. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Lamb Weston by 45,177.0% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,835,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $118,768,000 after purchasing an additional 2,828,983 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,824,690 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $411,558,000 after acquiring an additional 2,111,874 shares in the last quarter. Ion Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 2nd quarter valued at about $84,379,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 350.9% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,451,954 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $61,360,000 after buying an additional 1,129,918 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Company Profile

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.