Bryce Point Capital LLC Takes Position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Bryce Point Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 5,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $976,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 174.5% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 20,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,655,000 after acquiring an additional 13,160 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Lancaster Colony by 54.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 45,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,016,000 after purchasing an additional 16,074 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 70.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 26,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,691,000 after purchasing an additional 11,016 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 958.7% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 17,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,081,000 after buying an additional 15,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony during the third quarter worth $438,000. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $211.33.

Insider Activity at Lancaster Colony

In related news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total value of $3,250,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. This represents a 23.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 29.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Shares of LANC opened at $173.54 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.50 and a beta of 0.31. The business’s 50-day moving average is $182.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.26. Lancaster Colony Co. has a fifty-two week low of $163.20 and a fifty-two week high of $206.67.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.28. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. The company had revenue of $509.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $495.43 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.87 earnings per share. Lancaster Colony’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.78%.

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.