Benchmark Reaffirms “Hold” Rating for Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC)

Benchmark reissued their hold rating on shares of Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) in a report published on Friday, Benzinga reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Stephens dropped their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $196.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Loop Capital dropped their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $193.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 3.8 %

NASDAQ LANC opened at $187.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.41 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $177.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $184.69. Lancaster Colony has a twelve month low of $161.54 and a twelve month high of $215.31.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $466.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $468.36 million. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Lancaster Colony will post 6.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders 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 1.92%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lancaster Colony

In related news, Director Elliot K. Fullen bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $169.00 per share, with a total value of $507,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $895,362. The trade was a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lancaster Colony

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LANC. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 115.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 2nd quarter valued at $74,000. 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.