Benchmark Reaffirms Hold Rating for Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC)

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reiterated by investment analysts at Benchmark in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other research firms have also commented on LANC. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $196.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.50.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Lancaster Colony stock opened at $179.50 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $181.11 and its 200 day moving average is $184.73. Lancaster Colony has a one year low of $161.54 and a one year high of $215.31. The firm has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.06 and a beta of 0.35.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.70 by ($0.08). Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The company had revenue of $466.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $468.36 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lancaster Colony

In related news, Director Elliot K. Fullen purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 5,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $895,362. This represents a 130.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lancaster Colony during the second quarter worth about $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 115.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 177 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the second quarter worth $74,000. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Lancaster Colony

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.