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

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

Lancaster Colony Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ LANC traded down $0.50 on Friday, reaching $191.50. 149,123 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 135,980. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a PE ratio of 39.73 and a beta of 0.39. Lancaster Colony has a one year low of $158.88 and a one year high of $220.65. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $199.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $182.30.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LANC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $218.00 target price 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 report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $198.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.