Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the four ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $194.25.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LANC. StockNews.com raised Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Lancaster Colony from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

NASDAQ LANC opened at $173.23 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $189.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.83. The company has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.94 and a beta of 0.37. Lancaster Colony has a 1-year low of $158.88 and a 1-year high of $215.31.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lancaster Colony

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,186,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,913,000 after buying an additional 85,658 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 5.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 520,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,326,000 after acquiring an additional 25,072 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 415,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,157,000 after purchasing an additional 86,994 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Lancaster Colony by 5.5% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 306,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,840,000 after purchasing an additional 15,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Lancaster Colony by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 276,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,959,000 after purchasing an additional 8,686 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Lancaster Colony Company Profile

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.