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

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

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.50.

Lancaster Colony Trading Down 0.2 %

LANC stock opened at $179.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a PE ratio of 31.08 and a beta of 0.35. Lancaster Colony has a 12 month low of $161.54 and a 12 month high of $215.31. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $181.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.82.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last announced its 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). Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The business had revenue of $466.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $468.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony will post 6.72 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This is an increase from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is presently 62.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lancaster Colony news, Director Elliot K. Fullen acquired 3,000 shares of Lancaster Colony stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $169.00 per share, with a total value of $507,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $895,362. This represents a 130.55 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 29.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Consolidated Planning Corp boosted its position in Lancaster Colony by 4.5% during the second quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 1,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 2,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 12,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,219,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lancaster Colony by 5.2% during the third quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.