Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) Given New $200.00 Price Target at Stephens

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) had its target price raised by research analysts at Stephens from $196.00 to $200.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Stephens’ price objective points to a potential upside of 10.14% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital decreased their target price 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. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of LANC opened at $181.59 on Wednesday. Lancaster Colony has a twelve month low of $163.20 and a twelve month high of $209.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.48 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $177.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.84.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $509.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $495.43 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 8.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Lancaster Colony will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lancaster Colony

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LANC. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 2,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 0.5% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 12,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,219,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 5.2% during the third quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Lancaster Colony

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.