Brokerages Set Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Target Price at $193.50

Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $193.50.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LANC. Stephens dropped their target price on Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $196.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Elliot K. Fullen bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 100.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 29.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lancaster Colony

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LANC. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lancaster Colony during the second quarter worth about $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Lancaster Colony during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lancaster Colony during the second quarter worth about $74,000. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LANC opened at $192.25 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $180.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.00. The firm has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.31 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $468.36 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 8.49%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This is a positive change from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.74%.

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.