Brandes Investment Partners LP Raises Stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 38.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,099 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $586,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 115.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony during the second quarter worth $38,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Lancaster Colony during the second quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the fourth quarter valued at $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Elliot K. Fullen acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 5,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $895,362. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 29.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Stephens reduced 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $236.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lancaster Colony currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $195.75.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Lancaster Colony stock opened at $176.57 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $183.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.63 and a beta of 0.35. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12-month low of $160.01 and a 12-month high of $215.31.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released 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 return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 8.47%. The firm had revenue of $452.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $462.70 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.96 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.69%.

Lancaster Colony 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.