Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) Receives Hold Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Lancaster Colony from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Stephens decreased their target price on Lancaster Colony from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $236.00 to $232.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $195.75.

Lancaster Colony Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LANC opened at $181.80 on Wednesday. Lancaster Colony has a twelve month low of $160.01 and a twelve month high of $215.31. The company’s 50 day moving average is $183.90 and its 200 day moving average is $189.82. The company has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a PE ratio of 37.72 and a beta of 0.35.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.06). Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 8.47%. The company had revenue of $452.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $462.70 million. Equities research analysts predict that Lancaster Colony will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is currently 74.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lancaster Colony

In related news, Director Elliot K. Fullen bought 3,000 shares of the business’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 purchase, the director now directly owns 5,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $895,362. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 29.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lancaster Colony

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LANC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 504,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,924,000 after purchasing an additional 11,455 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 81,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,581,000 after acquiring an additional 1,769 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 45,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,619,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 38,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,334,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the period. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.