Lancaster Colony’s (LANC) Hold Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Benchmark reiterated their hold rating on shares of Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Loop Capital cut their target price on Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stephens reduced their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.50.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LANC opened at $182.27 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a PE ratio of 31.53 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $181.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.70. Lancaster Colony has a 1-year low of $161.54 and a 1-year high of $215.31.

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

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. This is an increase from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is presently 62.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lancaster Colony

In other Lancaster Colony news, Director Elliot K. Fullen purchased 3,000 shares of Lancaster Colony stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $895,362. This trade represents a 130.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 29.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lancaster Colony

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony in the second quarter worth $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 115.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 177 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony in the second quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.