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

Stephens restated their equal weight rating on shares of Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $196.00 price objective on the stock.

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

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 2.4 %

Lancaster Colony stock opened at $186.38 on Tuesday. Lancaster Colony has a 52-week low of $161.54 and a 52-week high of $215.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.68.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released its 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). Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 8.49%. The business had revenue of $466.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $468.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. Lancaster Colony’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony will post 6.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. This is a boost from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lancaster Colony

In related news, Director Elliot K. Fullen bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 5,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $895,362. This represents a 130.55 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 29.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony during the second quarter worth about $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 115.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 177 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired 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 stake in shares of Lancaster Colony during the second quarter worth about $74,000. 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.