Lancaster Colony Co. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.95 (NASDAQ:LANC)

Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 12th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of 0.95 per share on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th.

Lancaster Colony has raised its dividend by an average of 6.2% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 35 years. Lancaster Colony has a payout ratio of 53.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Lancaster Colony to earn $7.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 52.4%.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Shares of LANC opened at $193.93 on Friday. Lancaster Colony has a 52-week low of $163.20 and a 52-week high of $209.81. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $177.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.97. The firm has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of 34.08 and a beta of 0.35.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.28. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. The company had revenue of $509.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $495.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.87 earnings per share. Lancaster Colony’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Lancaster Colony will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LANC shares. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. DA Davidson upped their target price on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com raised Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $211.33.

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.