Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Short Interest Update

Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 618,200 shares, a decrease of 10.5% from the September 15th total of 690,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 137,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.5 days. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Elliot K. Fullen acquired 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $169.00 per share, with a total value of $507,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $895,362. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 29.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lancaster Colony

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LANC. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 2,386.6% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 159,981 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 4.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,186,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,913,000 after acquiring an additional 85,658 shares in the last quarter. F M Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony in the second quarter valued at approximately $7,997,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1,055.2% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 36,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,820,000 after acquiring an additional 32,966 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Stephens lowered their target price on Lancaster Colony from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on Lancaster Colony from $236.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $195.75.

Lancaster Colony Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of LANC stock opened at $179.92 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.33 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50 day moving average is $180.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.60. Lancaster Colony has a 12-month low of $160.01 and a 12-month high of $215.31.

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

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.69%.

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.