Analysts Set Expectations for Lamb Weston FY2026 Earnings

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research increased their FY2026 earnings estimates for Lamb Weston in a report issued on Wednesday, April 15th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the specialty retailer will earn $2.77 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate 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.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on LW. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $55.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lamb Weston presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 1.1%

LW stock opened at $43.25 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $44.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.46. Lamb Weston has a fifty-two week low of $37.62 and a fifty-two week high of $67.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.21, a PEG ratio of 6.34 and a beta of 0.49.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.11. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamb Weston

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LW. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 29.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 185,038 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $9,862,000 after acquiring an additional 42,039 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 3.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,355 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $872,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 19.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,490 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 405.9% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 256,794 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $13,548,000 after acquiring an additional 206,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 70.7% during the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 18,116 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $939,000 after purchasing an additional 7,503 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Peter J. Bensen bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $39.45 per share, for a total transaction of $197,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $678,697.80. The trade was a 40.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jan Eli B. Craps bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $48.65 per share, for a total transaction of $2,432,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 300,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,595,000. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 441,000 shares of company stock worth $18,703,290. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting Lamb Weston

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

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.