Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) was the target of a large decline in short interest in 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. Based on an average trading volume of 145,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

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

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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%. The company’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This is a positive change from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is 62.28%.

Insider Activity at Lancaster Colony

In other news, Director Elliot K. Fullen purchased 3,000 shares of Lancaster Colony stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were purchased 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 130.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 29.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LANC. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony in the second quarter worth $1,528,000. Leeward Investments LLC MA boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 5.6% in the second quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 51,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,823,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony in the 2nd quarter valued at $658,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 40.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,000 after buying an additional 3,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony in the second quarter valued at about $685,000. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on LANC shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $196.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.50.

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.