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

Stephens reaffirmed their equal weight rating on shares of Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) in a research report report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $218.00 price target on the stock.

Lancaster Colony Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of LANC traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $191.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 124,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,991. The stock has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a PE ratio of 39.82 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $199.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.39. Lancaster Colony has a 52 week low of $158.88 and a 52 week high of $218.96.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $471.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $467.90 million. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 7.10% and a return on equity of 18.96%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony will post 6.53 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is 74.69%.

Insider Activity at Lancaster Colony

In related news, insider Kristin Bird sold 1,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.66, for a total transaction of $232,540.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,546 shares in the company, valued at $683,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 29.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lancaster Colony

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,100,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $349,503,000 after buying an additional 19,427 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 12.5% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,307,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,795,000 after acquiring an additional 145,560 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 10.5% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 596,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,411,000 after acquiring an additional 56,787 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 504,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,924,000 after acquiring an additional 11,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 415,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,157,000 after acquiring an additional 86,994 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.