Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.95

Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 6th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of 0.95 per share on Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. This is a positive change from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90.

Lancaster Colony has raised its dividend by an average of 6.6% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 61 consecutive years. Lancaster Colony has a payout ratio of 54.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Lancaster Colony to earn $7.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 49.7%.

Lancaster Colony Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LANC opened at $196.21 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $179.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.91. The company has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.95 and a beta of 0.35. Lancaster Colony has a 52-week low of $161.54 and a 52-week high of $215.31.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $466.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $468.36 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 8.49%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LANC has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stephens decreased their price target on Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $196.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $193.50.

Insider Transactions at Lancaster Colony

In other news, Director Elliot K. Fullen acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $169.00 per share, with a total value of $507,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,298 shares in the company, valued at $895,362. This represents a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

About Lancaster Colony

Lancaster Colony Corporation engages in the manufacturing and marketing of specialty food products for the retail and foodservice channels in the United States. It operates in two segments, Retail and Foodservice. The company offers frozen garlic bread under the New York BRAND Bakery; frozen Parkerhouse style yeast and dinner rolls under the Sister Schubert's brand; salad dressings under the Marzetti, Simply Dressed, Cardini's, and Girard's brands; vegetable and fruit dips under the Marzetti brand; croutons and salad toppings under the New York BRAND Bakery, Chatham Village, and Marzetti brands; and frozen pasta under the Marzetti Frozen Pasta brand.