Unless you work in food processing, you probably don’t know the name Lamb Weston Holdings (NYSE:LW). Frankly, there’s not much reason you should. But even if you don’t know the company, you probably know their products. It produces a wide variety of potato products such as french fries, waffle fries and potato skins.

Like many consumer staples, LW stock is a fairly consistent performer that doesn’t dip or surge by too much. But today, this under-the-radar company is among the best performers in the S&P 500. This development has raised more than a few eyebrows.

Let’s explore why a mostly unknown company in a generally unexciting sector is suddenly on a huge winning streak.

Why LW Stock Is Topping the S&P 500

While rising to the top of the S&P 500 index today, LW stock has been as consistent as ever. As of this writing, it is up more than 10% for the day. Though its earlier upward trajectory appears to have slowed, the stock maintained its momentum and managed to avoid dipping. It initially jumped yesterday during after hours trading, spiking 12%. However, before this recent surge began, LW had spent the month mostly trending downward.

Now this company is enjoying a rare moment in the spotlight as investors stop to consider what has spurred this bump. It isn’t meme-stock momentum. The growth catalyst should be much more encouraging to investors.

Lamb Weston recently issued a positive forecast for its 2024 fiscal year earnings. The range is now between $5.47 and $5.92 per share. This is a significant jump after the company initially set guidance between $4.95 to $5.40 per share. Lamb Weston also predicts its sales could rise to as much as $7 billion, an improvement over the previous forecast that ranged between $6.7 billion to $6.9 billion.

In a statement released by the company, president and CEO Tom Werner stated:

“We raised our earnings target for the year to reflect our performance in the quarter, as well as the current solid demand and pricing environment. We continue to expect the potato crop in our growing regions in North America will be in line with historical averages, and we believe the overall crop in Europe has improved compared to earlier predictions as a result of better growing conditions.”

For investors, this should be highly encouraging to see. Names like LW stock tend to most commonly make headlines during times of food shortage. However, these developments prove that Lamb Weston is moving in a positive direction and is worth watching in better times as well. Investors seeking new S&P 500 stocks shouldn’t count it out.

On the date of publication, Samuel O’Brient did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.