Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) Rating Reiterated by Stephens

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating restated by Stephens in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $218.00 target price on the stock. Stephens’ price target points to a potential upside of 13.84% from the stock’s previous close.

Lancaster Colony Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LANC traded down $0.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $191.50. 149,123 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 135,980. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $199.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.34. Lancaster Colony has a 52-week low of $158.88 and a 52-week high of $220.65. The company has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.73 and a beta of 0.39.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.02. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 7.10% and a return on equity of 18.96%. The business had revenue of $471.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $467.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lancaster Colony will post 6.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Lancaster Colony

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lancaster Colony

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,100,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,503,000 after acquiring an additional 19,427 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,307,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,795,000 after purchasing an additional 145,560 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 10.5% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 596,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,411,000 after buying an additional 56,787 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 504,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,924,000 after buying an additional 11,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 415,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,157,000 after buying an additional 86,994 shares in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.