Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) Shares Up 3.1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) traded up 3.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $179.51 and last traded at $180.46. 29,712 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 134,643 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on shares of Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $211.33.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 2.7 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $183.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.23. The company has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 31.60 and a beta of 0.31.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $509.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $495.43 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of Lancaster Colony stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total value of $3,250,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. The trade was a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LANC. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 56.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1,078.9% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 48.4% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 80.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 893 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.