Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Receives $198.75 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the four research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $198.75.

Separately, Stephens downgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $205.00 to $218.00 in a research note on Friday, February 2nd.

Lancaster Colony Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of LANC stock opened at $185.40 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $200.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.81. Lancaster Colony has a twelve month low of $158.88 and a twelve month high of $220.65. The company has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.62 and a beta of 0.35.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.27. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 17.37%. The firm had revenue of $485.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $489.00 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Lancaster Colony will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lancaster Colony news, insider Kristin Bird sold 1,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.66, for a total value of $232,540.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $683,172.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 29.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lancaster Colony

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,000. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.