Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Trading Down 6% – Time to Sell?

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG)’s share price fell 6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $17.23 and last traded at $16.99. 2,037,169 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 12,696,718 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CAG. Evercore lowered their target price on Conagra Brands from $22.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Conagra Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Conagra Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $18.71.

Conagra Brands Trading Up 2.2%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $18.20 and a 200-day moving average of $18.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -75.20 and a beta of -0.02.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.01. Conagra Brands had a negative net margin of 0.87% and a positive return on equity of 10.59%. The company had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Conagra Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.700-1.85 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 27th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.5%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is -636.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Conagra Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CAG. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 4.2% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 23,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $628,000 after acquiring an additional 954 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the 1st quarter valued at $225,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 36,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $970,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 40,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 11,664 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the 2nd quarter worth about $562,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

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.