Barclays Cuts Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Price Target to $46.00

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) had its target price lowered by Barclays from $55.00 to $46.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on LW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

NYSE:LW opened at $39.40 on Thursday. Lamb Weston has a 52-week low of $37.62 and a 52-week high of $67.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $45.03 and a 200 day moving average of $51.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41, a P/E/G ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.49.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.11. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 4.61%.The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jan Eli B. Craps purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $48.65 per share, for a total transaction of $2,432,500.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 300,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,595,000. This represents a 20.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter valued at about $125,662,000. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 45,177.0% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,835,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $118,768,000 after buying an additional 2,828,983 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in 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 valued at $411,558,000 after acquiring an additional 2,111,874 shares in the last quarter. Ion Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $84,379,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 2,682.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 801,708 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,584,000 after acquiring an additional 772,893 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Lamb Weston News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Lamb Weston beat Q3 revenue and EPS expectations, showing revenue of $1.56B and adjusted EPS of $0.72, which underpins the argument that top-line demand remains resilient. Earnings Call Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Management reiterated its “Focus to Win” cost?savings program and a $250M target (management says it’s on track), which could help margin recovery and free cash flow over time. Earnings Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Lower contracted potato input costs (North America low?single-digit decline, Europe mid?teens) were flagged as a potential tailwind for fiscal 2027 margins. MarketBeat Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts’ consensus remains mixed: the street’s average rating is around “Hold” even as some firms retain overweight views — reflecting uncertainty rather than clear bullishness. Analyst Consensus
• Negative Sentiment: Several brokers trimmed price targets after the quarter (BNP Paribas Exane to $41, Barclays to $46, Stifel/Wells Fargo/BofA lowered targets), signaling reduced near?term earnings visibility and prompting selling pressure. BNP Paribas PT Cut
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts cut their forecasts and models after the results, citing persistent margin erosion from international expansion, mix and plant utilization — the main reason the stock has been under pressure despite a beat. Benzinga Coverage

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.