Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.70 by ($0.08), Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $466.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $468.36 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 8.49%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LANC traded up $6.87 during trading on Friday, reaching $180.47. 277,923 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 123,303. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of 31.22 and a beta of 0.35. Lancaster Colony has a 52 week low of $161.54 and a 52 week high of $215.31. The company's 50 day moving average is $177.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.71.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Elliot K. Fullen acquired 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $169.00 per share, with a total value of $507,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at $895,362. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 29.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LANC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Friday. Stephens lowered their target price on Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $196.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com cut Lancaster Colony from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $193.50.

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.