Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases New Shares in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 4,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $829,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lancaster Colony by 1,078.9% during the fourth 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 lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 48.4% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 724 shares of the company's stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 398 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 62.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 932 shares of the company's stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on LANC. Stephens decreased their target price on Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark upgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lancaster Colony from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lancaster Colony presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $203.50.

Lancaster Colony Trading Up 0.8%

Lancaster Colony stock traded up $1.42 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $169.23. The company had a trading volume of 125,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 148,935. The company has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.74 and a beta of 0.50. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12-month low of $156.14 and a 12-month high of $202.63. The company's fifty day moving average is $174.09 and its 200-day moving average is $178.91.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.07). Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The firm had revenue of $457.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $483.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.79%.

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.