Re-opening lifts Lamb Weston

Article Excerpt

LAMB WESTON HOLDINGS INC. $82 is a buy. The company (New York symbol LW, Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares o/s: 143.7 million; Market cap: $11.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.9; Divd. yield: 1.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.lambweston.com) is a leading producer of frozen french fries and other packaged vegetables. Thanks to the re-opening of restaurants and higher selling prices, the company’s sales in its fiscal 2022 fourth quarter, ended May 29, 2022, rose 14.5%, to $1.15 billion from $1.01 billion a year earlier. As well, earnings shot up 209.5%, to $0.65 from $0.21. Investors can expect Lamb Weston’s earnings for fiscal 2023 to rise 34% to $2.79 a share. The stock trades at 30.7 times that forecast. That high multiple is still reasonable in light of the company’s high share (about 40%) of the global potato market. The $0.98 dividend yields 1.2%. Lamb Weston is a buy. buy…