Benchmark Reiterates “Hold” Rating for Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC)

Benchmark restated their hold rating on shares of Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.50.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

NASDAQ:LANC opened at $179.62 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.08 and a beta of 0.35. Lancaster Colony has a 1-year low of $161.54 and a 1-year high of $215.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $181.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.82.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $468.36 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 8.49%. The company’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Lancaster Colony will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. This is a boost from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lancaster Colony news, Director Elliot K. Fullen bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $169.00 per share, for a total transaction of $507,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $895,362. The trade was a 130.55 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LANC. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony during the second quarter worth $1,528,000. Leeward Investments LLC MA increased its position 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 acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony in the 2nd quarter valued at about $658,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 40.0% in the 3rd 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. acquired a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 2nd quarter worth about $685,000. 66.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.