JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Stock Position in Conagra Brands $CAG

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) by 15.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,021,478 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 408,597 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $55,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the 2nd quarter worth about $172,475,000. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 239.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 8,347,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,837,000 after purchasing an additional 5,889,542 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 245.5% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 7,734,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,611,000 after purchasing an additional 5,495,503 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $135,318,000 after purchasing an additional 5,100,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 241.9% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 5,915,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,313,000 after purchasing an additional 4,185,486 shares during the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Conagra Brands Stock Down 1.6%

CAG stock opened at $15.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -68.89 and a beta of -0.02. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $18.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Conagra Brands has a 12 month low of $15.06 and a 12 month high of $27.68.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 19th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. Conagra Brands had a negative net margin of 0.87% and a positive return on equity of 10.59%. Conagra Brands’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Conagra Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $18.57.

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.