Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) Price Target Lowered to $227.00 at Loop Capital

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) had its price objective lowered by Loop Capital from $232.00 to $227.00 in a report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Loop Capital currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on LANC. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $196.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Shares of LANC stock traded up $6.87 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $180.47. 277,923 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 130,296. Lancaster Colony has a one year low of $161.54 and a one year high of $215.31. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $177.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $184.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.39 and a beta of 0.35.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its earnings results 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). Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 8.47%. The business had revenue of $466.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $468.36 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony will post 6.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Lancaster Colony

In other news, Director Elliot K. Fullen bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $169.00 per share, with a total value of $507,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $895,362. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony during the second quarter worth $1,528,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony during the first quarter worth $864,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony during the first quarter worth $868,000. Leeward Investments LLC MA boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 5.6% during the second quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 51,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,823,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony during the second quarter worth $658,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

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.