Zacks Research Increases Earnings Estimates for Lamb Weston

Key Points

• Zacks Research raised Lamb Weston’s Q2 FY2027 EPS estimate to $0.87 from $0.77 and maintains a “Strong Buy” rating. Its forecasts include $3.29 EPS for FY2027 and $3.50 for FY2028.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Lamb Weston has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $53.82, despite several firms recently raising their targets.
• Lamb Weston recently beat quarterly expectations with $0.75 EPS versus $0.59 expected and $1.67 billion in revenue. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, equivalent to a 2.8% annualized yield.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q2 2027 earnings per share estimates for shares of Lamb Weston in a note issued to investors on Friday, October 16th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the specialty retailer will post earnings of $0.87 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $0.77. Zacks Research has a "Strong-Buy" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Lamb Weston's current full-year earnings is $3.24 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Lamb Weston's FY2027 earnings at $3.29 EPS, Q3 2028 earnings at $1.01 EPS, FY2028 earnings at $3.50 EPS, Q1 2029 earnings at $0.78 EPS and FY2029 earnings at $3.77 EPS.

LW has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays increased their target price on Lamb Weston from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Stephens lifted their price target on Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Lamb Weston from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.82.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LW opened at $53.55 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. Lamb Weston has a 52 week low of $37.62 and a 52 week high of $67.07. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.57.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 6th. The specialty retailer reported $0.75 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Lamb Weston has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.050-3.350 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LW. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the second quarter worth approximately $730,276,000. JANA Partners Management LP increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 7.7% in 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 increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 294,120 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of 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 worth $115,865,000 after acquiring an additional 601,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 1,811,598 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $75,526,000 after acquiring an additional 129,243 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company's stock.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.06%.

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.

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