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

Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the four research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $198.75.

Separately, Stephens downgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $205.00 to $218.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd.

Lancaster Colony Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ LANC traded down $0.19 on Thursday, hitting $198.56. 108,299 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 134,591. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $200.25 and a 200-day moving average of $180.02. Lancaster Colony has a 12 month low of $158.88 and a 12 month high of $220.65. The company has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a PE ratio of 42.43 and a beta of 0.35.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.27. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 17.37%. The firm had revenue of $485.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $489.00 million. On average, analysts expect that Lancaster Colony will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.92%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kristin Bird sold 1,207 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.66, for a total value of $232,540.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,546 shares in the company, valued at $683,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 29.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lancaster Colony

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in Lancaster Colony by 0.3% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 17,001 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,555,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Lancaster Colony by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,127 shares of the company's stock worth $687,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in Lancaster Colony by 2.7% during the first quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,376 shares of the company's stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in Lancaster Colony by 1.6% during the first quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,858 shares of the company's stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Lancaster Colony by 1.2% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,485 shares of the company's stock worth $905,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company's stock.

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.