Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 745,400 shares, a growth of 26.1% from the June 30th total of 591,000 shares. Currently, 3.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 111,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.7 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lancaster Colony

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the first quarter worth $864,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the first quarter worth $868,000. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 72.6% during the fourth quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 86,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,356,000 after purchasing an additional 36,291 shares in the last quarter. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the first quarter worth $862,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the fourth quarter worth $2,445,000. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LANC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $218.00 price target on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $198.75.

Lancaster Colony Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of LANC traded up $2.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $188.30. 109,174 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 124,099. Lancaster Colony has a one year low of $158.88 and a one year high of $215.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $186.87 and a 200 day moving average of $191.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.07 and a beta of 0.37.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $467.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. Lancaster Colony’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is presently 74.69%.

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.