Tributary Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $561,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LANC. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 396.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,380,000 after buying an additional 11,517 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 10.3% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 17,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,925,000 after buying an additional 1,657 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 9.1% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 87.6% in the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $536,000 after buying an additional 1,515 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in Lancaster Colony by 5.4% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 2,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Shares of LANC stock traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $188.89. The company had a trading volume of 1,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 125,369. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12 month low of $158.88 and a 12 month high of $215.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $188.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $188.36. The company has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.12 and a beta of 0.37.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.02. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 7.10%. The company had revenue of $471.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $467.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on LANC. StockNews.com raised Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $218.00 price target on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lancaster Colony has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $198.75.

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.