Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Stock Rating Lowered by BNP Paribas Exane

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) was downgraded by BNP Paribas Exane from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Lamb Weston from $63.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lamb Weston from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $61.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Lamb Weston from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.70.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of LW opened at $41.69 on Monday. Lamb Weston has a fifty-two week low of $41.41 and a fifty-two week high of $68.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $59.64 and a 200 day moving average of $56.98. The firm has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.44. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 27.71%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Lamb Weston

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 2.0% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 9,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 64.2% in the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 537 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. now owns 1,772 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,718 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 115.5% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 446 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

More Lamb Weston News

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.