Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: "Hold" — 13 analysts cover Lamb Weston (10 hold, 3 buy) with an average 1‑year price target of $48.00.
• Operational update: Lamb Weston beat Q3 revenue and adjusted EPS and raised the midpoint of its net‑sales and EBITDA outlook while cutting capex and pursuing a $250M+ cost‑savings program, but operating margins and net income remain under pressure from weaker international demand and lower factory utilization.
• Insider signal: Director Jan Eli B. Craps bought 50,000 shares at $48.65 (≈$2.43M), increasing his holding to 300,000 shares (a 20% rise), indicating insider confidence despite mixed near‑term dynamics.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Hold" by the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.00.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LW. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Lamb Weston from $55.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday.

Insider Activity at Lamb Weston

In related news, insider Jan Eli B. Craps bought 50,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $48.65 per share, for a total transaction of $2,432,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 300,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,595,000. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 115.5% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 446 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Motco acquired a new position in Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Lamb Weston by 333.3% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 637 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lamb Weston by 44.2% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 649 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company's stock.

Key Lamb Weston News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 beat and guidance actions — Lamb Weston beat consensus revenue and adjusted EPS in Q3 and raised the midpoint of its net sales and EBITDA outlook while reducing expected 2026 capital expenditures, signaling management is shifting toward cash generation. BusinessWire: Q3 Results & Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Cost-savings and cash focus — management’s “Focus to Win” program (targeting at least $250M in savings) plus a reduced capex plan and meaningful YTD free cash flow support near-term cash generation and a pivot from growth to margin/cash focus. MarketBeat: Frozen Out
• Positive Sentiment: Potential margin tailwind from lower input costs — management flagged expected declines in contracted potato costs (NA low-to-mid single digits; Europe mid-teens), which could help margins in fiscal 2027 if volumes hold. MarketBeat: Input Cost Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst revisions are mixed — several firms trimmed price targets after the print (BNP Paribas Exane, Barclays, Stifel, Wells Fargo, BofA, Deutsche Bank), but many maintain neutral/overweight ratings and a consensus price target materially above current levels, producing divergent near-term guidance for investors. Benzinga: Analysts Cut Forecasts
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure and international softness — despite sales growth, operating margins and net income fell year-over-year (EPS down materially from prior-year levels), driven by weaker restaurant demand in some international markets, lower factory utilization and pricing pressure; these dynamics are keeping the stock under pressure despite the beat. MarketBeat: Margin Pressure

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

NYSE:LW opened at $39.40 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $45.12 and its 200-day moving average is $51.88. Lamb Weston has a 1-year low of $37.62 and a 1-year high of $67.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The stock has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.11. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The business had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.