Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Cut to Neutral at BNP Paribas Exane

BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports.

LW has been the subject of a number of other reports. Cfra Research upgraded Lamb Weston to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Lamb Weston from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Lamb Weston from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $66.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.18.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

NYSE LW opened at $42.39 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $59.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.88. Lamb Weston has a 12-month low of $41.41 and a 12-month high of $68.61. The company has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.25, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 27.71%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.68%.

Institutional Trading of Lamb Weston

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 115.5% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 446 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Lamb Weston in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Motco bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 64.2% during the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 537 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Lamb Weston News

Here are the key news stories impacting Lamb Weston this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays continues to recommend an overweight position on Lamb Weston, which provides a supportive institutional view despite recent weakness. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo maintains an overweight recommendation (though it trimmed its price target), signalling conviction among some brokers that the shares have upside after the selloff. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually high volume in call options suggests some traders are speculating on a rebound or takeover of short-term upside volatility. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts’ consensus rating on LW is now “Hold,” reflecting mixed views across the sell-side and contributing to muted investor conviction. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen moved its price target modestly lower to $55 while keeping a Hold rating — implies upside from current levels but signals caution. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein cut its target sharply to $46 from $65, a material downgrade that likely contributed to selling pressure. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan trimmed its price target to $50 (from $62) and kept a neutral stance, another indication of reduced near-term expectations from a major bank. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America and BNP Paribas Exane have lowered expectations/ratings, and several news analyses highlight sustained underperformance — reinforcing the bearish narrative among some investors. Read More. Read More. Read More.

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.