Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $471.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $467.90 million. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 7.10% and a return on equity of 18.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 EPS.

Lancaster Colony Trading Down 0.3 %

LANC stock traded down $0.50 on Friday, hitting $191.50. 149,123 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 135,980. The stock has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.73 and a beta of 0.39. Lancaster Colony has a 1-year low of $158.88 and a 1-year high of $220.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $199.06 and a 200-day moving average of $182.34.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.69%.

Insider Activity at Lancaster Colony

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LANC shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $218.00 price target on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $198.75.

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.