Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Shares Gap Down - What's Next?

Key Points

• Lamb Weston shares gapped down, opening at $50.30 versus a prior close of $52.41, though the stock later traded near $50.65.
• Analysts maintain a cautious outlook, with three Buy ratings and eleven Holds producing a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $53.36.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations with $0.87 EPS on $1.77 billion in revenue, while announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, equivalent to a 3.0% annual yield.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $52.41, but opened at $50.30. Lamb Weston shares last traded at $50.6480, with a volume of 31,357 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Lamb Weston from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Lamb Weston from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Lamb Weston from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.36.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 0.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The company has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.93.

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

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is currently 73.08%.

Institutional Trading of Lamb Weston

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the second quarter worth $730,276,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 27.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,824,690 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $411,558,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111,874 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 4,167.2% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 6,562,194 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $283,356,000 after purchasing an additional 6,408,412 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Lamb Weston by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,801,585 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $300,812,000 after purchasing an additional 63,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JANA Partners Management LP increased its holdings in Lamb Weston by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. JANA Partners Management LP now owns 5,394,635 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $232,940,000 after purchasing an additional 386,000 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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