Bank of America Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Stock Price

Key Points

• Bank of America cut its price target for Lamb Weston from $66 to $53 and kept a neutral rating, implying roughly a 20.4% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst views are mixed: the consensus is a Hold with an average target of $62, while some firms (Jefferies, Wells Fargo) maintain higher targets (~$68–$70) and Buy/Overweight calls.
• Lamb Weston recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, but the stock trades near its 1‑year low (~$44) with high institutional ownership (~89.6%) and notable leverage (debt-to-equity ~2.05).

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by investment analysts at Bank of America from $66.00 to $53.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the specialty retailer's stock. Bank of America's target price indicates a potential upside of 20.43% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $65.00 target price on Lamb Weston and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Lamb Weston from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Lamb Weston from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Cfra Research raised shares of Lamb Weston to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.00.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

NYSE:LW opened at $44.01 on Monday. The company's 50-day moving average is $60.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.17. Lamb Weston has a 1-year low of $43.71 and a 1-year high of $68.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.83, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.44.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 4.56% and a return on equity of 28.08%. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Lamb Weston

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at approximately $719,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,817 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $347,000. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the third quarter worth $568,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 48.6% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,275 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,071 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company's stock.

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.

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