Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) Issues Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.08 EPS

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.70 by ($0.08), Briefing.com reports. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 8.47%. The company had revenue of $466.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $468.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. Lancaster Colony’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of LANC traded up $6.87 during trading on Friday, reaching $180.47. 277,923 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 130,296. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $177.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.81. The stock has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39 and a beta of 0.35. Lancaster Colony has a twelve month low of $161.54 and a twelve month high of $215.31.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.61%.

Insider Transactions at Lancaster Colony

In other news, Director Elliot K. Fullen purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $169.00 per share, for a total transaction of $507,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $895,362. This represents a 100.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LANC has been the subject of several research reports. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research report on Friday. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Stephens cut their price target on Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $196.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.