Analysts Set Expectations for Lamb Weston FY2026 Earnings

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) – Analysts at Zacks Research upped their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for Lamb Weston in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 15th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the specialty retailer will post earnings per share of $2.77 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $2.72. Zacks Research currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Lamb Weston’s current full-year earnings is $3.10 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Lamb Weston’s Q4 2026 earnings at $0.62 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $0.62 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $0.76 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $0.92 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $0.69 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $2.99 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $0.74 EPS, Q2 2028 earnings at $0.87 EPS, Q3 2028 earnings at $1.04 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $3.37 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on LW. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on Lamb Weston from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Bank of America decreased their price target on Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.00.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LW opened at $43.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $44.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.00. Lamb Weston has a 1-year low of $37.62 and a 1-year high of $67.07. The company has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.21, a P/E/G ratio of 6.34 and a beta of 0.49.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp bought 50,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $43.19 per share, with a total value of $2,159,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 5,398,980 shares in the company, valued at $233,181,946.20. The trade was a 0.93% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Peter J. Bensen bought 5,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction on Monday, April 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $39.45 per share, with a total value of $197,250.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 17,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $678,697.80. This trade represents a 40.97% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 441,000 shares of company stock valued at $18,703,290. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,679,203 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $698,692,000 after buying an additional 43,766 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised 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 buying an additional 2,111,874 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,801,585 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $300,812,000 after buying an additional 63,865 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,528,402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $147,536,000 after buying an additional 21,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,286,305 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $190,869,000 after buying an additional 79,257 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: Jana Partners (a director-level holder) has been buying sizeable blocks of LW stock across April (totaling ~386,000 shares across Apr 7–15) and disclosed another 50,000-share purchase on Apr 15, boosting its ownership to ~5.4M shares — a strong signal of insider confidence and potential activist interest. Insider Buying Alert
• Positive Sentiment: Lamb Weston announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38 (annualized $1.52; ~3.5% yield) with an ex-dividend date of May 8 and payable June 5 — supports income investors and can underpin the share price. MarketBeat: LW profile
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research released a series of Apr 15 estimate revisions for LW: several near-term quarterly EPS cuts (Q1–Q2 2027 and Q1–Q2 2028, Q4 2026/2027) but upgrades for some quarters (notably Q3 2027 and Q3 2028) and a small raise to FY2026; Zacks kept a “Hold” rating. The mixed revisions leave near-term sentiment ambiguous. Zacks estimate revisions (via MarketBeat)
• Neutral Sentiment: Lamb Weston reported an April 1 quarter that beat consensus (EPS $0.72 vs $0.61; revenue $1.56B vs $1.49B). The beat shows operational resilience but management commentary and margin drivers will matter for sustainability. Earnings recap
• Negative Sentiment: Several sell-side moves have trimmed price targets and ratings recently (Wells Fargo, BNP Paribas Exane, Bank of America lowered targets; Weiss Ratings cut to “sell”), which can pressure sentiment and cap upside until fundamentals or forecasts improve. Analyst sentiment summary

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.