Lancaster Colony Co. (LANC) to Distribute Quarterly Dividend of $0.95 on December 31st

Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 6th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of 0.95 per share on Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. This is a boost from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90.

Lancaster Colony has increased its dividend by an average of 6.6% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 61 consecutive years. Lancaster Colony has a dividend payout ratio of 54.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Lancaster Colony to earn $7.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 49.7%.

Lancaster Colony Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LANC opened at $196.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.95 and a beta of 0.35. Lancaster Colony has a 12-month low of $161.54 and a 12-month high of $215.31. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $179.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.91.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $466.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $468.36 million. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lancaster Colony will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LANC shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital cut their price target on Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stephens lowered their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $196.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $193.50.

Insider Transactions at Lancaster Colony

In other news, Director Elliot K. Fullen acquired 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $169.00 per share, with a total value of $507,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $895,362. The trade was a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

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.