Benchmark Upgrades Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) to Buy

Benchmark upgraded shares of Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Benchmark currently has $185.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on LANC. StockNews.com raised Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens boosted 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. Finally, DA Davidson lifted 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $203.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of LANC traded down $0.95 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $160.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 60,933 shares, compared to its average volume of 143,037. The company has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.10 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $181.33 and a 200 day moving average of $181.62. Lancaster Colony has a 1 year low of $156.14 and a 1 year high of $202.63.

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

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Lancaster Colony's payout ratio is 61.79%.

Insider Transactions at Lancaster Colony

In other Lancaster Colony news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 23.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 29.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Lancaster Colony

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Lancaster Colony by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,200,002 shares of the company's stock worth $380,908,000 after buying an additional 30,987 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,913 shares of the company's stock worth $97,308,000 after acquiring an additional 5,690 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 510,470 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,496 shares during the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia increased its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 450,493 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,998,000 after buying an additional 12,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 305,264 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,853,000 after purchasing an additional 52,030 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company's stock.

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.