Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $47.23 and last traded at $47.2230, with a volume of 2686633 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.33.

Key Headlines Impacting Lamb Weston

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

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly beat and profit swing — LW posted net sales of $1.618B (up ~1%) and swung to net income of $62.1M with EPS of $0.69, marginally above street estimates; operating income and net income showed large year?over?year improvements. Business Wire Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Media coverage highlights the profit turnaround — outlets note the company “swung to a profit” as revenue edged up, reinforcing that earnings momentum improved this quarter. WSJ: Lamb Weston Swings to Profit
• Neutral Sentiment: Company reaffirmed FY?2026 outlook with revenue guidance roughly in line with consensus ($6.4B–$6.6B), which reduces upside surprise risk but provides some visibility. Guidance/Reaffirmation
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst previews and model updates circulated ahead of the print; some shops adjusted forecasts modestly but no broad consensus of a large beat. Benzinga: Analyst Forecast Changes
• Negative Sentiment: Top?line growth was only ~1% y/y and the EPS beat was minimal (+$0.01), which may have disappointed investors seeking stronger growth or margin expansion given the stock’s prior run. Quarterly Release / Slides
• Negative Sentiment: Balance?sheet and valuation risks — LW carries meaningful leverage (debt/equity ~2.0) and modest margins, which can amplify downside if growth stalls or input costs reaccelerate. (Context from company filings/metrics.)

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LW. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on Lamb Weston from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $66.00 target price on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Lamb Weston from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.20.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 24.8%

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $60.90 and its 200 day moving average is $57.22. The company has a market capitalization of $6.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.37, a PEG ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.49.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 4.56% and a return on equity of 28.08%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is 70.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LW. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the second quarter worth about $119,413,000. Ion Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $84,379,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 49.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,500,503 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $239,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483,559 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 46.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,150,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $124,872,000 after purchasing an additional 680,000 shares during the period. Finally, Gates Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 49.8% during the 1st quarter. Gates Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,016,142 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $107,460,000 after purchasing an additional 670,611 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

About Lamb Weston

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc produces, distributes, and markets frozen potato products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Global, Foodservice, Retail, and Other. It offers frozen potatoes, commercial ingredients, and appetizers under the Lamb Weston brand, as well as under various customer labels.