Stephens Reaffirms Equal Weight Rating for Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC)

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

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on LANC. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Tuesday. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of 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 cut shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five equities 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Lancaster Colony stock opened at $179.62 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $181.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.08 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 posted 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 company had revenue of $466.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $468.36 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 8.49%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This is a positive change from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.28%.

Insider Transactions at Lancaster Colony

In other news, Director Elliot K. Fullen purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $169.00 per share, for a total transaction of $507,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,298 shares in the company, valued at $895,362. This represents a 130.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lancaster Colony

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 2,386.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 172,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,517,000 after purchasing an additional 165,155 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 4,189.1% in the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 163,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,922,000 after buying an additional 159,981 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,186,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,913,000 after buying an additional 85,658 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 243.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 83,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,767,000 after buying an additional 59,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, F M Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the 2nd quarter valued at $7,997,000. 66.44% of the stock is 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.