Lamb Weston $LW Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada cut its position in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 211,088 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 11,627 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $8,922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at $125,662,000. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 45,177.0% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,835,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $118,768,000 after acquiring an additional 2,828,983 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 27.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,111,874 shares in the last quarter. Ion Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the 2nd quarter worth $84,379,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 350.9% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,451,954 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $61,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129,918 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of Lamb Weston stock opened at $52.19 on Monday. Lamb Weston has a 12 month low of $37.62 and a 12 month high of $67.07. 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 stock has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a PE ratio of 25.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.05.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for 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%.Lamb Weston’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. Lamb Weston has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.950-3.250 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on LW shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Lamb Weston from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $42.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.36.

Lamb Weston News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term earnings outlook improved: Zacks Research raised its FY2027 EPS forecast to $3.04 from $2.99 and its FY2028 estimate to $3.42 from $3.37. It also increased projections for Q2 2027, Q4 2027 and Q4 2028. Zacks expects FY2029 EPS of $3.78, suggesting improving earnings power over the longer term. Zacks Research estimate revisions
• Neutral Sentiment: Estimate changes were mixed: Zacks reduced its forecasts for Q1 2027 EPS to $0.58 from $0.62, Q1 2028 EPS to $0.71 from $0.74, Q2 2028 EPS to $0.86 from $0.87 and Q3 2028 EPS to $1.02 from $1.04. The revisions indicate some near- and medium-term pressure despite the improved full-year outlook. Lamb Weston earnings estimate revisions
• Positive Sentiment: Future earnings remain above current-year expectations: Zacks’ FY2028 and FY2029 EPS forecasts of $3.42 and $3.78 compare with the current-year consensus estimate of $3.05, reinforcing the potential for earnings growth if operating conditions improve. Lamb Weston earnings forecasts
• Negative Sentiment: Executive sold shares: An executive disposed of 3,820 Lamb Weston shares at $53.18 each, representing approximately $203,100. The transaction reduced the insider’s total equity holdings by 6% and direct holdings by 11%, potentially weighing on sentiment, although a single insider sale does not necessarily signal a change in business fundamentals. Executive Parts Ways With 3,820 Shares of Lamb Weston Stock

Lamb Weston 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.