Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) Receives Equal Weight Rating from Stephens

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reissued by equities researchers at Stephens in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.13% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Tuesday. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of LANC traded down $2.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $177.97. The company had a trading volume of 5,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,508. Lancaster Colony has a 52 week low of $161.54 and a 52 week high of $215.31. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $180.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.90. The stock has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.79 and a beta of 0.35.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.70 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $466.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.36 million. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony will post 6.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Elliot K. Fullen bought 3,000 shares of Lancaster Colony stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $169.00 per share, for a total transaction of $507,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $895,362. This represents a 130.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lancaster Colony

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,186,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,913,000 after buying an additional 85,658 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 556,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,227,000 after purchasing an additional 14,864 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 5.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 520,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,326,000 after buying an additional 25,072 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 5.5% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 306,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,840,000 after buying an additional 15,962 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 1.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 241,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,664,000 after acquiring an additional 4,327 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Lancaster Colony Company Profile

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.