Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) Short Interest Up 11.8% in September

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) saw a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 17,030,000 shares, an increase of 11.8% from the August 31st total of 15,230,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,790,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days. Currently, 3.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.10.

Insider Activity at Conagra Brands

In related news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.29, for a total transaction of $1,211,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 161,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,890,108.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. increased its holdings in Conagra Brands by 144.4% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the first quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Security National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of CAG stock traded up $0.20 on Tuesday, reaching $32.72. 5,986,937 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,698,707. The company has a market capitalization of $15.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.82, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $31.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.27. Conagra Brands has a twelve month low of $25.16 and a twelve month high of $33.24.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 14.31%. Conagra Brands’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.28%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is currently 191.78%.

Conagra Brands Company Profile

Conagra Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer packaged goods food company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Grocery & Snacks, Refrigerated & Frozen, International, and Foodservice segments. The Grocery & Snacks segment primarily offers shelf stable food products through various retail channels.