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Compare Stocks › LW vs UNH

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (LW) vs UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH)

LW
Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc.
$40.64
VS
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
$280.44

Rewards

LW
  • ★Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has maintained ROIC above 10% for 4 consecutive years, suggesting solid business economics.
  • ★Free cash flow has grown at a 21.4% CAGR over the past 4 years, demonstrating strong earnings power growth.
  • ★Return on equity has consistently exceeded 20% over 4 years, indicating efficient use of shareholder capital.
UNH
  • ★5 insider purchases over the past 12 months with a buy/sell ratio above 3:1 — a sustained pattern of insider confidence.
  • ★Dividend yield of 3.15% with a consistent or growing payout over the past 4 years.

Risks

LW
  • ⚠Gross margin of 22.1% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
  • ⚠High leverage (2.25x debt/equity) combined with thin interest coverage (-1.0x) poses financial risk.
UNH
  • ⚠ROIC has declined by 7.9 percentage points over the observed period, which may signal competitive erosion.
  • ⚠Gross margin of 18.5% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
  • ⚠FCF yield of 5.4% suggests reasonable valuation assuming continued moderate growth.

Key Valuation Metrics

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LW
UNH
Valuation
$614.59M
Free Cash Flow
$13.86B
10.85%
FCF Yield
5.45%
14.72
Trailing P/E
21.18
13.33
Forward P/E
14.08
Quality & Moat
8.50%
ROIC
0.64%
20.36%
ROE
11.85%
22.10%
Gross Margin
18.53%
N/A
PEG Ratio
N/A
Balance Sheet Safety
2.25
Debt / Equity
0.82
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
3.14
Net Debt / EBITDA
2.54
3.74%
Dividend Yield
3.15%
LW: 7Ties: 1UNH: 3
LWUNH

Historical Fundamentals

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LW

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

UNH

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

$1 Retained Earnings Test

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LW
$-4.50
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Market Cap Declined
Σ Retained
$1.56B
Δ Market Cap
$-7.04B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
UNH
$-7.37
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Market Cap Declined
Σ Retained
$26.63B
Δ Market Cap
$-196.16B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis

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LW
22.6% Overvalued
Price is 22.6% above estimated fair value
Current Price: $40.64
Fair Value: $33.15
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
UNH
4.9% Margin of Safety
Price is 4.9% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $280.44
Fair Value: $294.90
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

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LW

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $41?

+11.6%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +4.2%

The market implies +11.6% Owner Earnings growth, below historical trends — potential opportunity.

Standard FCF implies a more demanding +4.2%, reflecting heavy growth investment expected to generate future returns.

UNH

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $280?

+11.1%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +9.2%

The market implies +11.1% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +9.2%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

Economic Moat Score

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LW
61/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with roic consistency as the key competitive advantage. Improving revenue predictability would strengthen the moat.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.
UNH
64/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with revenue predictability as the key competitive advantage. Improving margin stability would strengthen the moat.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.

Forensic Accounting

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LW
-2.65
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.
UNH
-2.45
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Ownership Breakdown

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LW
Insiders 3.0%Institutions 94.3%Retail & Other 2.7%
No. of Institutional Holders861
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
UNH
Insiders 0.8%Institutions 84.2%Retail & Other 14.9%
No. of Institutional Holders4,244
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

Insider Buying Activity

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LW
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
NIBLOCK ROBERT A
Director
$182,819
@ $60.94 · 2025-01-13
JURGENSEN WILLIAM GERALD
Director
$316,350
@ $63.27 · 2024-12-23
BLIXT CHARLES A
Director
$75,901
@ $63.25 · 2024-12-23
JURGENSEN WILLIAM GERALD
Director
$554,291
@ $55.43 · 2024-07-26
NIBLOCK ROBERT A
Director
$277,476
@ $55.50 · 2024-07-26
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
UNH
0
Buys (3M)
5
Buys (12M)
Total value (12M): $31.61M
REX JOHN F
President
$5.00M
@ $291.12 · 2025-05-16
HEMSLEY STEPHEN J
Chief Executive Officer
$25.02M
@ $288.57 · 2025-05-16
GIL KRISTEN
Director
$1.00M
@ $271.17 · 2025-05-15
FLYNN TIMOTHY PATRICK
Director
$491,786
@ $320.80 · 2025-05-14
NOSEWORTHY JOHN H
Director
$93,647
@ $312.16 · 2025-05-14
FLYNN TIMOTHY PATRICK
Director
$511,575
@ $511.57 · 2025-01-17
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.

Insider Selling Activity

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LW
0
Sells (3M)
1
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $99,973
JONES GREGORY W
Officer
$99,973
@ $62.48 · 2025-10-02
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
UNH
0
Sells (3M)
1
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $179,645
CONWAY PATRICK HUGH M.D.
Chief Executive Officer
$179,645
@ $305.00 · 2025-06-10
MCSWEENEY ERIN L
Officer
$438,987
@ $626.23 · 2024-11-11
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.

🎭 Mr. Market's Mood

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LW
FearGreed
😨Fear(25/100)

"Market is pessimistic — investigate whether fears are temporary or structural"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.
UNH
FearGreed
😨Fear(37/100)

"Market is pessimistic — investigate whether fears are temporary or structural"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

⚖️ Buffett Signal

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LW
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Fear (25)
UNH
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Fear (37)
View LW Full AnalysisView UNH Full Analysis