Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Shares Purchased by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) by 8.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 232,968 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,875 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $6,213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAG. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the 1st quarter worth $324,000. Miller Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Miller Financial Services LLC now owns 27,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 2,790 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance LLC increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 14,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 919 shares during the period. Sargent Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 43.5% during the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 21,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 6,375 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 36,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Trading Down 0.3%

Conagra Brands stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $19.02. 607,221 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,092,243. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.13. Conagra Brands has a 52 week low of $18.80 and a 52 week high of $33.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.08 billion, a PE ratio of 7.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2,781,800 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of Conagra Brands from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $21.00 price target on shares of Conagra Brands and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Conagra Brands from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.58.

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.