Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Lamb Weston from “Buy” to “Hold.” The broader analyst consensus is also “Hold,” with three Buy ratings and ten Hold ratings and an average price target of $52.73.
• Lamb Weston reported quarterly earnings of $0.87 per share, beating estimates of $0.63, while revenue of $1.77 billion exceeded the $1.70 billion consensus and rose 5.6% year over year.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 89.56%, with BlackRock initiating a roughly $730 million position and several other major investors increasing their stakes.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on LW. Barclays raised their price objective on Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Lamb Weston from $40.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $42.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.73.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 5.9%

Shares of NYSE:LW opened at $43.60 on Friday. 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 has a 52-week low of $37.62 and a 52-week high of $67.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $50.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.89. The company has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.49.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 4.39% and a return on equity of 23.33%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. Lamb Weston has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.950-3.250 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LW. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the second quarter worth approximately $730,276,000. JANA Partners Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 7.7% during the second quarter. JANA Partners Management LP now owns 5,394,635 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $232,940,000 after acquiring an additional 386,000 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 6.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,869,644 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $210,271,000 after acquiring an additional 294,120 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,820,000 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $118,130,000 after purchasing an additional 670,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 601,171 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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