Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) shares gapped down before the market opened 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LW shares. Stephens raised their price objective on Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $40.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Lamb Weston from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.36.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50-day moving average is $50.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.93.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.24. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 23.33% and a net margin of 4.39%.The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Lamb Weston has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.950-3.250 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LW. VELA Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 78,694 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,398,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $997,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 6,408,412 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 57.2% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,971 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 2,901 shares during the period. Finally, JANA Partners Management LP increased its position 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 valued at $232,940,000 after buying an additional 386,000 shares during the period. 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.