CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Has $13.84 Million Stake in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 27.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 466,585 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 101,557 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $13,839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $264,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 14,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 2,112 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 188.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 153,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,395,000 after acquiring an additional 100,141 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 368.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,016,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,126,000 after acquiring an additional 799,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $312,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of CAG stock traded down $0.39 during trading on Thursday, hitting $29.47. The company had a trading volume of 2,191,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,692,327. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.16 and a 52 week high of $33.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $29.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.32.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 14.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 191.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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 note on Friday, July 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.18.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Charisse Brock sold 15,444 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.37, for a total transaction of $469,034.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 113,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,439,523.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.