Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $195.75.

LANC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Friday, September 6th. StockNews.com lowered Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $236.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lancaster Colony

In related news, Director Elliot K. Fullen acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $169.00 per share, with a total value of $507,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,298 shares in the company, valued at $895,362. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 29.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lancaster Colony

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 85,658 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 5.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 520,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,326,000 after buying an additional 25,072 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 306,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,840,000 after purchasing an additional 15,962 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 1.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 241,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,664,000 after buying an additional 4,327 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 165,155 shares during the period. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lancaster Colony Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of LANC opened at $179.31 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $190.32. Lancaster Colony has a 12 month low of $160.01 and a 12 month high of $215.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20 and a beta of 0.35.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm had revenue of $452.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $462.70 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Lancaster Colony will post 6.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is 74.69%.

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.