We recently compiled a list of the 15 Best Stocks To Invest In For Retirement. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) stands against the other stocks.
It is common knowledge that retirees with private sources of income, pension, or alternate employment are faring better than those relying only on social security. According to the Federal Reserve, Americans in the workforce were rather confident about their retirement savings in 2023. That year, 27% of adults had already retired in the United States, with 15% of them still working in some capacity. Retirees were working part-time rather than full-time. However, those with disabilities or low education were less prone to finding employment after retirement. 51% of adults retired to pursue passion projects or spend time with family, and 46% attributed their decision to retire to health issues, caregiving roles, or downsizing at work.
While social security remained the primary source of income for retirees, 80% of them had private sources of income as per the Fed’s 2023 report. 56% of them had pensions, 48% relied on investment income – which includes interest, dividends, or rental income, and 33% had labor income to fall back on. 92% of retirees in this 12-month survey were in the age bracket of 65 or above.
Over the last few decades, private companies have largely eliminated pension plans, shifting the onus of retirement savings to employees via 401(k)s. In 2022, only 15% of private industry workers had access to a pension. Retirement satisfaction has also dropped, with only 48% of retirees aged 62-75 commenting that they are very satisfied in 2023, down from 62% in 2020. Rising inflation has cut into retirees’ spending power, and 68% of them are burdened with credit card debt, up from 43% in 2020.
Sam Dogen, a millionaire who retired early and founded Financial Samurai, told CNBC that dividends are a source of reliable income. He commented:
“Stock dividends are my favorite passive income strategy because it is 100% passive.”
While young investors tend to reinvest dividend payouts, retirees can very well use it as a source of steady income. Dogen pointed out the consistent stock market growth over time and stated that dividend stocks are thus a dependable source of income over the long run. Given this, we will now take a look at some of the best stocks to buy for retirement.
Our Methodology
For this article, we used the Finviz stock screener to filter out stocks with dividend yields over 2% and dividend payout ratios under 30% as of February 19. We focused on picking stocks with a consistent record of paying dividends, offering dividend growth over the years, and being financially stable to steer clear of yield traps. The list below is ranked in ascending order of the hedge fund sentiment as of Q4 2024.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 363.5% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 208 percentage points (see more details here).
Potatoes being sorted on a conveyor belt in a modern packing facility.
Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)
Dividend Yield as of February 19: 2.57%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 47
Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) is an American food processing company that offers frozen potato products, catering to restaurants, grocery stores, wholesalers, and food service distributors. The company’s Q2 results fell short of expectations, mainly due to higher manufacturing costs and lower sales. CEO Tom Werner expects challenges to continue into 2026 as global demand for frozen potatoes remains weak and industry capacity grows. To stay profitable, the company is cutting costs, shutting down some production lines, and looking for more ways to streamline operations. Lamb Weston is still aiming to protect profitability and shareholder value.
On December 19, 2024, Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) declared a $0.37 per share quarterly dividend, a 2.8% increase from the last dividend of $0.36. The dividend is payable on February 28, to shareholders on record as of January 31. Lamb Weston also increased its share repurchase authorization by $250 million. The company remains committed to raising dividends annually since going public eight years ago, keeping its payout target at 25% to 35% of earnings per share. It ranks 6th on our list of the best stocks to buy for retirement.
According to Insider Monkey’s Q4 data, 47 hedge funds were bullish on Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW), up from 37 funds in the prior quarter. JANA Partners was the biggest position holder in the company, with 7.13 million shares worth $476.5 million.
Overall LW ranks 6th on our list of the best stocks to invest in for retirement. While we acknowledge the potential of LW as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that certain AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than LW but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.