LSV Asset Management Acquires 71,413 Shares of Conagra Brands $CAG

LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,828,865 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 71,413 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned about 1.22% of Conagra Brands worth $100,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Conagra Brands by 2.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,202,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $536,363,000 after purchasing an additional 588,435 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Conagra Brands by 25.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,587,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,414,000 after purchasing an additional 3,173,767 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Conagra Brands by 21.7% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,674,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,672,000 after purchasing an additional 2,618,647 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Conagra Brands by 19.6% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,130,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,984,873 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in Conagra Brands by 239.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 8,347,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,837,000 after purchasing an additional 5,889,542 shares during the period. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:CAG opened at $13.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.49 billion and a P/E ratio of -135.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $14.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.77. Conagra Brands has a 1 year low of $13.14 and a 1 year high of $23.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 1st. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.01). Conagra Brands had a positive return on equity of 10.15% and a negative net margin of 0.39%.The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,400.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Conagra Brands news, Director Richard H. Lenny acquired 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $14.34 per share, for a total transaction of $358,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 229,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,288,735.60. This represents a 12.23% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John J. Mulligan acquired 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $14.31 per share, for a total transaction of $250,425.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $296,617.68. This represents a 542.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Conagra Brands from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered Conagra Brands from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Conagra Brands from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $15.60.

About Conagra Brands

Conagra Brands, Inc is a leading packaged foods company based in Chicago, Illinois, with a broad portfolio of shelf-stable, frozen and refrigerated foods marketed under familiar brands. The company develops, produces and distributes a wide range of consumer food products, serving both retail grocery and foodservice channels. Conagra’s product lineup includes frozen entrees, snacks, condiments, baking goods and desserts, providing convenient meal solutions for consumers across North America and select international markets.

Among its well-known brands are Birds Eye, Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Marie Callender’s and Banquet in the frozen foods category, as well as Hunt’s sauces, Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn, Slim Jim meat snacks and Reddi-wip toppings.