Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Short Interest Up 25.1% in April

Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 616,700 shares, a growth of 25.1% from the March 31st total of 493,100 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 168,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lancaster Colony

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LANC. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,604 shares of the company's stock valued at $970,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 2.5% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,609 shares of the company's stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,323 shares of the company's stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Lancaster Colony from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Benchmark upgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $203.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:LANC traded up $1.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $166.60. The company had a trading volume of 228,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 144,699. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 29.28 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $179.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.29. Lancaster Colony has a one year low of $156.14 and a one year high of $202.63.

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

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony's 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.