Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.28 EPS

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.28, Zacks reports. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 19.01%.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

LANC stock opened at $180.21 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.18 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.01. Lancaster Colony has a 52 week low of $163.20 and a 52 week high of $209.81.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This is a boost from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is 65.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $196.00 target price on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Tuesday, November 19th.

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.