First Hawaiian Bank Grows Holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

First Hawaiian Bank raised its position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,337 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 445 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony in the third quarter valued at $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 56.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 2nd quarter worth about $74,000. nVerses Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Lancaster Colony Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ LANC opened at $166.74 on Friday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12-month low of $163.20 and a 12-month high of $215.31. The stock has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 28.85 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a 50-day moving average of $183.21 and a 200 day moving average of $182.84.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.70 by ($0.08). Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The business had revenue of $466.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $468.36 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This is a boost from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is 65.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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