Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) Earns Equal Weight Rating from Stephens

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating restated by research analysts at Stephens in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $196.00 price target on the stock. Stephens’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 10.13% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research report on Tuesday. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

NASDAQ LANC traded down $2.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $177.97. 5,564 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 130,508. The company has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.79 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $180.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.90. Lancaster Colony has a one year low of $161.54 and a one year high of $215.31.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.70 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $466.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.36 million. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. Research analysts predict that Lancaster Colony will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Elliot K. Fullen bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $169.00 per share, with a total value of $507,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,298 shares in the company, valued at $895,362. The trade was a 130.55 % 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. 29.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lancaster Colony

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony during the second quarter worth about $1,528,000. Leeward Investments LLC MA increased its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 51,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,823,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony in the second quarter worth approximately $658,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 40.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,000 after purchasing an additional 3,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony in the second quarter valued at approximately $685,000. 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.