Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC – Get Rating) in a research note released on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the stock.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

LANC stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $198.15. 377,433 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 120,030. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $192.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.50. The stock has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.55 and a beta of 0.20. Lancaster Colony has a fifty-two week low of $116.85 and a fifty-two week high of $214.00.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.51 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $477.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $474.98 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 5.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 8th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lancaster Colony

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Equitable Trust Co. raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 1,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in Lancaster Colony by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 21,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,338,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Lancaster Colony by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 44,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,778,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony during the fourth quarter worth $96,000. Finally, CI Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony during the fourth quarter worth $8,109,000. 60.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lancaster Colony

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Lancaster Colony Corp. engages in the manufacture and sale of specialty food products. It operates through the following segments: Retail and Foodservice. The Retail and Foodservice segments both focus on the manufacture and sale of frozen breads, refrigerated dressings, dips and shelf-stable dressings, and croutons under the brand names New York BRAND Bakery, Sister Schubert’s, Marzetti Frozen Pasta, and Flatout.