4,786 Shares in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Purchased by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $829,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LANC. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 1,078.9% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 48.4% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 724 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 80.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 893 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 932 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on LANC shares. Benchmark raised Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Stephens reduced their target price on Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LANC opened at $166.93 on Friday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a one year low of $156.14 and a one year high of $202.63. The stock has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 29.34 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $177.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.94.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.07). Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The company had revenue of $457.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $483.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. Lancaster Colony’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.79%.

Lancaster Colony 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.