Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

Separately, Stephens reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $218.00 price target on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $198.75.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Shares of LANC opened at $191.91 on Friday. Lancaster Colony has a 52 week low of $158.88 and a 52 week high of $218.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.82 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $198.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $182.56.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $467.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lancaster Colony news, insider Kristin Bird sold 1,207 shares of Lancaster Colony stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $683,172.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 29.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lancaster Colony

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $687,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 1.2% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 0.3% in the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 25,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,309,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in Lancaster Colony by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 4,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $821,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 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.