Brokerages Set Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Price Target at $198.75

Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the four research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $198.75.

LANC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $218.00 target price on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Friday, May 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lancaster Colony

In other Lancaster Colony news, insider Kristin Bird sold 1,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.66, for a total value of $232,540.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $683,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 29.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LANC. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Lancaster Colony by 12.5% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,307,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,795,000 after purchasing an additional 145,560 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 54.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 319,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,139,000 after buying an additional 112,696 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 46.0% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 328,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,235,000 after buying an additional 103,550 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 596,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,411,000 after buying an additional 56,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,250,000. 66.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 0.6 %

Lancaster Colony stock opened at $194.86 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $198.51 and its 200 day moving average is $182.84. Lancaster Colony has a twelve month low of $158.88 and a twelve month high of $218.41. The company has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.43 and a beta of 0.39.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $471.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $467.90 million. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 7.10% and a return on equity of 18.96%. Lancaster Colony’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lancaster Colony will post 6.53 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.69%.

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.