The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Lowers Stake in Conagra Brands $CAG

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its stake in Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) by 68.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,563 shares of the company’s stock after selling 340,435 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $2,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAG. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Conagra Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,071,275,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $145,656,000. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 5,889,542 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 245.5% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 7,734,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,611,000 after acquiring an additional 5,495,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Conagra Brands by 216.2% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,459,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,318,000 after purchasing an additional 5,100,424 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:CAG opened at $16.18 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.74 billion, a PE ratio of -4.04 and a beta of -0.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Conagra Brands has a 12-month low of $12.53 and a 12-month high of $20.32. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.14.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. Conagra Brands had a positive return on equity of 10.44% and a negative net margin of 16.99%.The firm had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Conagra Brands has set its FY 2027 guidance at 1.400-1.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Conagra Brands will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 30th were given a dividend of $0.175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 30th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently -17.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on CAG. Evercore reduced their price objective on Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $13.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Zacks Research downgraded Conagra Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating and set a $12.00 price target (down from $16.00) on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Conagra Brands from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $14.07.

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.