Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Receives $198.75 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the four brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $198.75.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on LANC shares. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $218.00 price target on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com raised Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd.

Institutional Trading of Lancaster Colony

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LANC. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 34.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 43,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,215,000 after buying an additional 11,208 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 13.1% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 10,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,717,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony during the third quarter worth $340,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 53.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 105,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,403,000 after buying an additional 36,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 396.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,380,000 after buying an additional 11,517 shares in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:LANC opened at $187.88 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $188.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.98 and a beta of 0.37. Lancaster Colony has a 12-month low of $158.88 and a 12-month high of $215.31.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $471.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $467.90 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 7.10%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Lancaster Colony will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.69%.

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.