August 24, 2023
Top 10 Stock Lamb Westons Buy Recommendation
How to read the ranks
For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".
Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".
Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.
Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.
(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).
(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.
Snapshot: Lamb Westons – Top 10 Stock in S&P Food & Beverage Index
Lamb Westons is listed as a top 10 stock on August 24, 2023 in the market index S&P US Food & Beverage because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. Two consolidated Obermatt Ranks are above-average. The company is growing above average and professional investor sentiment is positive. Both are encouraging signals for a stock purchase decision, albeit at an above-average share price. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 60 (high 60% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall buy recommendation for Lamb Westons on August 24, 2023.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | USA |
| Industry | Packaged Foods & Meats |
| Index | Energy Efficient, S&P US Consumer, S&P US Food & Beverage, S&P 500 |
| Size class | X-Large |
When Obermatt identifies the Top 10 stocks in a market, it’s based on a certain investment strategy. The best performing stocks usually aren’t the ones that everyone is talking about (those are often "over-priced" and have low Value ranks).
For each investment strategy, we provide you with more detailed analysis and our recommendation. You see the ranks of the top 10 stocks ranked by that particular investment strategy (360° View, Sentiment, Value, Growth, Safety and Combined Financial Performance).
360° View: Obermatt 360° View Lamb Westons Buy
| 360 METRICS | August 24, 2023 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 39 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 63 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 19 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 95 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 60 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 60 (better than 60% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock Lamb Westons are above average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with half of the metrics below and half above average for Lamb Westons. The consolidated Growth Rank has a good rank of 63, which means that the company experiences above-average growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, and invested capital growth as well as stock returns. This means that growth is higher than for 63% of competitors in the same industry. The consolidated Sentiment Rank also has a good rank of 95, which means that professional investors are more optimistic about the stock than for 95% of alternative investment opportunities. But the consolidated Value Rank has a less desirable rank of 39, which means that the share price of Lamb Westons is on the higher side compared with typical size in indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. This means the stock price is higher than for 61% of alternative stocks in the same industry. Finally, the consolidated Safety Rank has a riskier rank of 19, which means that the company has a financing structure that is riskier than those of 81% comparable companies when looking at the amount of its debt, its refinancing requirements, and its ability to service debt. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 60, Lamb Westons is better positioned than 60% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. Only half of the consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, so one needs to take a close look. Growth is above-average (Growth Rank of 63), and professional market sentiment is positive (Sentiment Rank of 95), but value and safety are below average. The Safety Rank is the least significant of the four consolidated ranks, because it only reflects financing practices. In the case of high growth, aggressive financing is a good thing. So the question is: How to assess below-average value against above-average growth and sentiment? Growth may be the strongest driver of the investment rationale in this case, which is reflected in institutional investors' opinions. It is typical for growth companies to have low value, as is the case here. Investors are willing to pay more for companies that outperform their competitors. So the question is, how much do you sacrifice value for growth? You can use the following rule of thumb: If you take 100 minus the growth rank, you arrive at a possibly minimum level for the value rank. For example, if the growth rank is at 75, and the value rank is at 5, you should tread carefully. If the value rank is at 40, it still might be a good value if the growth rank is above 60. Sometimes market sentiment just extrapolates the past, but sometimes it reflects reality. You pay more than the market average for this stock, but it may be worth it. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for Lamb Westons very positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 95 (better than 95% compared with alternatives) for 2023, overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Lamb Westons is very positive. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Lamb Westons. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 87 (better than 87% of alternative investments), which means that, currently, stock research analysts tend to recommend a stock investment in the company. In addition, Analyst Opinions Change has a rank of 84, which means that stock research experts are changing their opinions for the better in recommending investing in the company. In other words, they are getting even more optimistic about investments in Lamb Westons. Finally, the Professional Investors rank is 100, which means that currently, professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 100% of alternative investment opportunities. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 95 (more positive than 95% compared with investment alternatives), Lamb Westons has a reputation among professional investors that is significantly higher than that of its competitors. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. But there is also a signal for caution. Market Pulse has a rank of 42, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks tend to be negative when discussing this company (more negative news than for 58% of competitors). This could mean future risks and should make investors careful. Attention to negative news for Lamb Westons is worthwhile because they may be early warning signals. Without those, all other professional signals are encouraging, especially since analysts are getting more optimistic. ...read more
Value Strategy: Lamb Westons Stock Price Value below-average critical
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 39 (worse than 61% compared with alternatives), Lamb Westons shares are more expensive than the average comparable stock. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Lamb Westons. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 65 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 65% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning Lamb Westons's profit levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 9, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 9% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than 66% of alternatives (only 34% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than 50% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive as regards to the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 39, is a hold recommendation based on Lamb Westons's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. This is a puzzling picture, because it means that profits are high while dividends are low. Since the stock price is low compared with invested capital but high in respect to expected revenues, it means that the company has more invested capital than peers for generating the same amount of revenue. Since profits are higher, it could be a "cash cow" situation (using the classic Boston Consulting BCG matrix naming convention) where the company is on a downward trend, still living from the profits of past products. As the company pays low dividends, it may harbor the opinion that a turnaround is possible, and it rather invests the cash than pay it out to shareholders, thus sealing the company's fate early. Any investment optimism should only be a buy trigger once thorough research is completed. ...read more
Growth Strategy: Lamb Westons Growth Momentum good
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 63 (better than 63% compared with alternatives), Lamb Westons shows an above-average growth dynamic in its industry. Investors also speak of positive momentum. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Lamb Westons. Sales Growth has a rank of 70 which means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow more than 70% of its competitors. Both Profit Growth, with a rank of 57, and Stock Returns, with a rank of 87, are also above average. But Capital Growth only has a rank of 12, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow its invested capital less than 88% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 63, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. That may be a good sign if the company is already well positioned and doesn't require more investments at this time. They may focus on growing the top (revenues) and bottom (profits) lines, recently rewarded with above-average stock returns for shareholders. But it may also be a sign of danger as the company is falling back with capital investment activities concerning competition. This requires further analysis of corporate communications. ...read more
Safety Strategy: Lamb Westons Debt Financing Safety risky
| SAFETY METRICS | August 24, 2023 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 6 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 34 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 58 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 19 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 19 (better than 19% compared with alternatives), the company Lamb Westons has much riskier financing practices than comparable other companies, which means that their overall debt burden is significantly above the industry average. This doesn't mean that the business of Lamb Westons is also risky, it only means that the company is on the riskier side in respect to bankruptcy in case things turn sour, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with just one indicator above average for Lamb Westons. Liquidity is at 58, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 58% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is safer when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is riskier at a rank of 34, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 66% of its competitors. Leverage is also high at a rank of 6, which means that the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 94% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 19 (worse than 81% compared with alternatives), Lamb Westons has a financing structure that is significantly riskier than that of its competitors. High Leverage (a low Obermatt Leverage Rank) is good in good times, because it usually indicates that shareholders get higher returns. The good Liquidity performance of the company is an indicator that this is the case. However, if you expect an economic downturn, you may stay clear of this stock because they have an above-average debt level that needs refinancing soon. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: Lamb Westons Lowest Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | August 24, 2023 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 39 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 63 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 58 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 23 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 23 (worse than 77% compared with investment alternatives), Lamb Westons (Packaged Foods & Meats, USA) shares have lower financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Lamb Westons are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 39 (worse than 61% of alternatives), and are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 19, which means above-average debt burdens) but show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 63). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 23, is a sell recommendation based on Lamb Westons's financial characteristics. As the company Lamb Westons shows low value with an Obermatt Value Rank of 39 (61% of comparable investments are less expensive), investors should look at the other ranks. In this case, growth is expected to be above-average, better than 63% of comparable companies (Obermatt Growth Rank is 63). This is a typical case. Companies with above average growth tend to cost more than stocks with slower growth expectations. If this is a high-growth company, the low Obermatt Safety Rank of 19 is a good sign. The more debt a well-performing company has, the higher the returns to shareholders. However, if growth turns negative or interest rates increase, high debt may become a burden. If you believe the future is bright for Lamb Westons, even a low-value company (in terms of its key financial indicators) can be a good investment. ...read more
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