Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) have earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $14.20.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore lowered their price target on Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $13.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Conagra Brands from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Conagra Brands from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on Conagra Brands from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAG opened at $13.21 on Friday. Conagra Brands has a 12 month low of $12.53 and a 12 month high of $21.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -132.12 and a beta of -0.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $13.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.21.

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

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.6%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1,400.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Conagra Brands

In other news, Director Richard H. Lenny bought 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $14.34 per share, with a total value of $358,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 229,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,288,735.60. The trade was a 12.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John J. Mulligan purchased 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $14.31 per share, for a total transaction of $250,425.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 20,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $296,617.68. This trade represents a 542.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Conagra Brands

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lifted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 661,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,442,000 after purchasing an additional 131,287 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,125,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,659,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554,725 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $2,415,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Conagra Brands by 153.4% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 406,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,897,000 after buying an additional 246,178 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Conagra Brands by 15.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,021,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,323,000 after buying an additional 408,597 shares during the period. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Conagra Brands Company Profile

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.