Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) Earns Equal Weight Rating from Stephens

Stephens reaffirmed their equal weight rating on shares of Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $196.00 price target on the stock.

LANC has been the subject of several other reports. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $193.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 2.4 %

LANC stock opened at $186.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $181.30 and a 200 day moving average of $184.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of 31.53 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by ($0.08). Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 8.49%. The company had revenue of $466.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lancaster Colony will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. This is a boost from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is currently 62.28%.

Insider Activity at Lancaster Colony

In other news, Director Elliot K. Fullen bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $169.00 per share, for a total transaction of $507,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $895,362. This trade represents a 130.55 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lancaster Colony

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Consolidated Planning Corp increased its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 1,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 2,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 0.5% in 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 increased its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

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.