Lancaster Colony’s (LANC) “Equal Weight” Rating Reaffirmed at Stephens

Stephens reissued their equal weight rating on shares of Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $218.00 price objective on the stock.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Shares of Lancaster Colony stock traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $191.50. The company had a trading volume of 149,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 135,980. The company has a 50 day moving average of $199.06 and a 200 day moving average of $182.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.73 and a beta of 0.39. Lancaster Colony has a 52-week low of $158.88 and a 52-week high of $220.65.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.02. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 7.10%. The firm had revenue of $471.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $467.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. Lancaster Colony’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is presently 74.69%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kristin Bird sold 1,207 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.66, for a total transaction of $232,540.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $683,172.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 29.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lancaster Colony

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Lancaster Colony by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $687,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 6.5% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 1.2% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $905,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in Lancaster Colony by 0.3% in the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 25,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,309,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 4,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $821,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.