Benchmark Reaffirms Hold Rating for Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC)

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Benchmark in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Lancaster Colony from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $196.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $193.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LANC traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $179.66. 89,713 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 130,884. Lancaster Colony has a one year low of $161.54 and a one year high of $215.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a PE ratio of 30.87 and a beta of 0.35. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $181.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $184.82.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.70 by ($0.08). Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The company had revenue of $466.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.36 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony will post 6.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Lancaster Colony

In other news, Director Elliot K. Fullen acquired 3,000 shares of Lancaster Colony stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $169.00 per share, for a total transaction of $507,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,298 shares in the company, valued at $895,362. This trade represents a 130.55 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 29.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LANC. Consolidated Planning Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 4.5% in the second quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 1,232 shares of the company's stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in Lancaster Colony by 2.3% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 2,506 shares of the company's stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in Lancaster Colony by 1.8% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in Lancaster Colony by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 12,568 shares of the company's stock worth $2,219,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the company's stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.