Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Short Interest Update

Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 478,600 shares, a decline of 23.4% from the October 15th total of 624,500 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 145,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Lancaster Colony Stock Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ LANC traded down $3.43 on Friday, reaching $180.75. The company had a trading volume of 121,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 158,642. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of 31.27 and a beta of 0.35. Lancaster Colony has a 12 month low of $161.54 and a 12 month high of $215.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $180.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.95.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $466.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $468.36 million. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 19.01%. Lancaster Colony’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Lancaster Colony will post 6.72 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This is a boost from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is currently 62.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Elliot K. Fullen acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $169.00 per share, with a total value of $507,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $895,362. This represents a 130.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lancaster Colony

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LANC. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 115.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Lancaster Colony during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the second quarter worth $74,000. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LANC shares. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stephens dropped their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $196.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.50.

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.