Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on LANC. Stephens cut their target price on Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Benchmark upgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Lancaster Colony stock opened at $161.45 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.37 and a beta of 0.38. Lancaster Colony has a twelve month low of $156.14 and a twelve month high of $202.63. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $181.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.62.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $457.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $483.47 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Lancaster Colony will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is 61.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lancaster Colony

In other news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of Lancaster Colony stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total value of $3,250,230.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. This trade represents a 23.73 % decrease in their position. The sale 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lancaster Colony

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LANC. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 19,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,938 shares in the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 4,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $811,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 63.7% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,056,000 after purchasing an additional 4,574 shares in the last quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony during the 1st quarter worth $370,000. 66.44% of the stock is currently 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.