Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Price Target Lowered to $53.00 at Bank of America

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) had its price objective trimmed by Bank of America from $66.00 to $53.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on LW. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Lamb Weston from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Zacks Research lowered Lamb Weston from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.40.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of LW stock opened at $42.95 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 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 has a fifty-two week low of $42.45 and a fifty-two week high of $68.61.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LW. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 155.7% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 131,165 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,991,000 after purchasing an additional 79,872 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 24.2% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 367,923 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $19,610,000 after acquiring an additional 71,618 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 11.9% during the first quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 6,574 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 12.0% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,595,877 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $85,060,000 after acquiring an additional 170,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 23.9% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,823 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large bullish options activity — investors bought roughly 9,763 call options on Monday (≈263% above the average daily call volume), signaling speculative bullish interest that can provide short‑term buying support.
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America cut its price target from $66 to $53 and set a “neutral” rating; the $53 target still implies upside vs. the current level, leaving room for recovery if guidance/margins stabilize. Benzinga coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and outlets are highlighting LW’s S&P 500 exposure and how international revenues are evolving — coverage that may keep the name in focus for index/ETF flows and international‑revenue re‑ratings. Lamb Weston S&P exposure
• Neutral Sentiment: Several market writeups are positioning Lamb Weston as “on sale” amid the pullback, which can attract value‑oriented buyers if fundamentals improve. Why LW shares are on sale
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings aftermath: coverage says LW beat the quarter but issued weak guidance and flagged margin pressures, prompting a valuation reassessment — a key driver of the downward move as investors focus on near‑term profitability. Valuation reassessment after earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Company warnings of profit pressure from increased discounting and higher input costs have been highlighted by multiple outlets, reinforcing concerns about compressing margins and near‑term earnings risk. Profit pressure warning
• Negative Sentiment: Press reports and analyst commentary say price discounts have materially pressured profits, driving a sharp selloff in recent sessions. Barron’s: discounts pressured profits
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst tone has cooled: BNP Paribas Exane downgraded LW from “outperform” to “neutral,” adding to bearish sentiment and reducing buy‑side conviction (no link provided for the downgrade item).
• Negative Sentiment: Technical/market signal — the stock recently hit a new 52‑week low in mid‑Dec amid thining support, a bearish indicator that can trigger more selling from momentum and stop‑loss orders. 52-week low coverage

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.