Bank of America Has Lowered Expectations for Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Stock Price

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) had its target price reduced by research analysts at Bank of America from $66.00 to $53.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 27.13% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Lamb Weston from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.70.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

NYSE LW opened at $41.69 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.44. Lamb Weston has a fifty-two week low of $41.41 and a fifty-two week high of $68.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.71% and a net margin of 6.06%.The company’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lamb Weston in the 2nd quarter valued at about $119,413,000. Ion Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the second quarter valued at approximately $84,379,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 46.3% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,150,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $124,872,000 after acquiring an additional 680,000 shares in the last quarter. Gates Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 49.8% in the first quarter. Gates Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,016,142 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $107,460,000 after acquiring an additional 670,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 989.7% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 704,239 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,515,000 after acquiring an additional 639,615 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Institutional support remains: Wells Fargo kept an “overweight” rating on LW despite cutting its price target, signaling conviction in the company’s longer‑term story. Wells Fargo maintains Lamb Weston Holdings (LW) overweight recommendation
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity: large call buying (9,763 calls, +263% vs. average) suggests some investors are speculating on a rebound or hedging exposure at current levels (can be a short‑term bullish signal).
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst stance — several firms are staying cautious with “hold”/”neutral” ratings (Stifel, BNP Paribas Exane, Globe & Mail summary), indicating no broad restoration of buy-side momentum. Analysts Are Neutral on Top Consumer Goods Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America and Wells Fargo cut price targets (to $53 and $54 respectively) but still imply mid‑20%+ upside from current levels — this keeps upside on the table while signaling reduced near‑term expectations. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings / guidance mix: management’s post‑quarter commentary prompted a reassessment of valuation — the company beat near‑term EPS but issued weaker guidance and highlighted margin pressures, which is pressuring the multiple. Lamb Weston (LW): Reassessing Valuation After Earnings Beat, Weak Guidance and Margin Pressures
• Negative Sentiment: Downgrades & technical weakness: BNP Paribas Exane moved LW from outperform to neutral and several writeups highlight a prolonged bearish trend and sustained underperformance versus peers, amplifying selling pressure. Finviz (BNP Paribas downgrade)
• Negative Sentiment: Market narrative: analyst/opinion pieces point to a structural lack of momentum since mid‑2023; until guidance or margins stabilize, sentiment may remain negative. What’s Driving Lamb Weston’s Sustained Underperformance

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.