Eagle, Idaho-based Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (LW) is a leading supplier of frozen potato, sweet potato, appetizer, and other vegetable products. Valued at a market cap of $7.7 billion, the company primarily serves foodservice, restaurant, and retail customers, offering products such as frozen fries, hash browns, wedges, and specialty potato items.
Companies worth $2 billion or more are typically classified as “mid-cap stocks,” and LW fits the label perfectly, with its market cap exceeding this threshold, underscoring its size, influence, and dominance within the packaged food industry. The company’s strength lies in its market leadership in frozen potato products and its extensive global distribution network, which enables it to efficiently serve major foodservice chains, restaurants, and retail customers. Its focus on product innovation, consistency, and customer partnerships positions it as a trusted supplier in both domestic and international markets.
This frozen potato products provider has dipped 34.1% from its 52-week high of $83.98, reached on Dec.16, 2024. Shares of LW have gained 3.4% over the past three months, underperforming the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s ($DOWI) 9.9% return during the same time frame.
In the longer term, LW has fallen 15.4% over the past 52 weeks, considerably lagging behind DOWI's 10.3% uptick over the same time period. Moreover, on a YTD basis, shares of LW are down 17.2%, compared to DOWI’s 9% rise.
To confirm its recent bullish trend, LW has been trading above its 50-day moving average since late July, with slight fluctuations. However, it has remained below its 200-day moving average over the past year, with slight fluctuations.
On Jul. 23, shares of LW skyrocketed 16.3% after its better-than-expected Q4 earnings release. Robust volume growth, driven by contract wins across each of the company's channels and geographic regions, contributed to a 4% year-over-year rise in its net sales to $1.7 billion, which topped the consensus estimates by 5.7%. Moreover, its adjusted EPS of $0.87 improved 11.5% from the year-ago quarter, exceeding analyst expectations by a notable margin of 35.9%.
Lamb Weston has also underperformed its rival, Post Holdings, Inc. (POST), which declined 10.3% over the past 52 weeks and 10.3% on a YTD basis.
Despite LW’s recent underperformance, analysts remain moderately optimistic about its prospects. The stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy” from the 11 analysts covering it, and the mean price target of $62.20 suggests a 12.3% premium to its current price levels.
