Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Price Target to $54.00

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) had its target price cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $54.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

LW has been the subject of several other reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on Lamb Weston from $40.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $42.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.18.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of LW opened at $48.02 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The company has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $49.88 and a 200 day moving average of $46.06. Lamb Weston has a 12 month low of $37.62 and a 12 month high of $67.07.

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

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lamb Weston by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,930 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 1,261 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 162.7% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 34,674 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,446,000 after purchasing an additional 21,476 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 6.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,869,644 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $210,271,000 after purchasing an additional 294,120 shares in the last quarter. MAC Alpha Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 5.8% in the second quarter. MAC Alpha Capital Management LP now owns 104,103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,496,000 after purchasing an additional 5,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 13.1% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 36,968 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,596,000 after purchasing an additional 4,273 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Lamb Weston

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

• Positive Sentiment: Earnings and sales exceeded expectations. Adjusted EPS was $0.75 versus the $0.59 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $1.67 billion, about $10 million above expectations. Lamb Weston rallies after cost-saving measures help the bottom line
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised fiscal 2027 guidance. The company now expects low-single-digit sales growth, adjusted EBITDA of $1.125 billion to $1.215 billion and adjusted EPS of $3.05 to $3.35, above the prior consensus estimate of $3.02. Lamb Weston Lifts Fiscal 2027 Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: North American performance was strong. North America sales increased 5.2% to $1.14 billion, with resilient restaurant demand and stable volumes supporting the quarter. Cost-saving initiatives also helped protect adjusted earnings. LW Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates on Higher North America Volume
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target from $46 to $53, although it maintained a neutral rating. Lamb Weston also declared its regular $0.38 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a roughly 3.2% annual yield at the referenced price.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed. The higher target reflects improving execution, but the neutral rating indicates that investors may want further evidence that the turnaround can be sustained.
• Negative Sentiment: Underlying profitability remains pressured. Net income fell to $29.1 million from $64.3 million a year earlier, while international sales declined 8.0% and gross profit reportedly dropped 22.2%. These figures highlight continuing inflation, pricing and overseas-market challenges.

About Lamb Weston

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.