Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) Given New $227.00 Price Target at Loop Capital

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) had its price target lowered by Loop Capital from $232.00 to $227.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. Loop Capital currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on LANC. Stephens lowered their target price on Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $196.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.50.

Lancaster Colony Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ LANC opened at $187.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.41 and a beta of 0.35. Lancaster Colony has a twelve month low of $161.54 and a twelve month high of $215.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $177.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.69.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by ($0.08). Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 8.49%. The business had revenue of $466.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.36 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lancaster Colony will post 6.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Elliot K. Fullen bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was acquired 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 directly owns 5,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $895,362. This represents a 100.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 29.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lancaster Colony

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony during the third quarter worth $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 115.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

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.