Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Receives $198.75 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the four analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $198.75.

Several research firms have weighed in on LANC. StockNews.com upgraded Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $218.00 price target on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research report on Friday, May 3rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lancaster Colony

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LANC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,186,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,913,000 after purchasing an additional 85,658 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 504,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,924,000 after acquiring an additional 11,455 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 415,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,157,000 after acquiring an additional 86,994 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in Lancaster Colony by 54.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 319,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,139,000 after acquiring an additional 112,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Lancaster Colony by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 276,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,959,000 after purchasing an additional 8,686 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Shares of LANC stock opened at $188.30 on Friday. Lancaster Colony has a 52 week low of $158.88 and a 52 week high of $215.31. The company has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.07 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $186.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.99.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $467.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. 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.