Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Reduces Position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 442,471 shares of the company’s stock after selling 58,806 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $12,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in Conagra Brands by 15.8% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 8,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 49.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 22,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $737,000 after acquiring an additional 7,500 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in Conagra Brands by 108.3% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 622,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,252,000 after buying an additional 323,742 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands during the third quarter valued at approximately $268,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands during the third quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of CAG opened at $25.45 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.95, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $23.06 and a one year high of $33.24. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.29.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 4.13%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. Conagra Brands’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Monday, January 27th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 27th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 137.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on CAG. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America cut their target price on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup cut their target price on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Conagra Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $33.00 to $26.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Conagra Brands has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.67.

About Conagra Brands

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.