Stephens Issues Positive Forecast for Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Stock Price

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) had its price objective boosted by equities researchers at Stephens from $50.00 to $55.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Stephens’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 14.55% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Lamb Weston from $42.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Lamb Weston from $40.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.64.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

NYSE:LW opened at $48.02 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.49. Lamb Weston has a fifty-two week low of $37.62 and a fifty-two week high of $67.07. The company has a fifty day moving average of $49.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.06.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 6th. The specialty retailer reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 23.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. Lamb Weston has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.050-3.350 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $730,276,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $51,521,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $61,360,000 after buying an additional 1,129,918 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 28.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,742,208 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $115,865,000 after acquiring an additional 601,171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Lamb Weston by 349.1% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 690,493 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $29,180,000 after acquiring an additional 536,745 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Company Profile

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc (NYSE: LW) is a global producer and marketer of frozen potato products. The company supplies French fries, potato wedges, hash browns, potato rounds, mashed potatoes and other specialty potato products to restaurants, foodservice distributors, retailers and food manufacturers.

Its product portfolio includes conventional and specialty frozen potato offerings, as well as sweet potato products and appetizer items. Lamb Weston sells products under its Lamb Weston and Grown in Idaho brands, while also providing private-label products for retail and foodservice customers.

The company’s history dates to the 1950s, when it began producing frozen potato products in the Pacific Northwest.