Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Stock Price Up 3.8%

Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) were up 3.8% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $30.11 and last traded at $30.10. Approximately 2,110,754 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 4,740,209 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CAG shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.18.

Conagra Brands Stock Up 3.9 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.22. 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 firm has a market cap of $14.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.32.

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

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.65%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is 191.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Charisse Brock sold 15,444 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.37, for a total value of $469,034.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 113,254 shares in the company, valued at $3,439,523.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Conagra Brands

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 188.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 153,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,395,000 after buying an additional 100,141 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 316.6% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 154,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,414,000 after buying an additional 117,042 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 517,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,840,000 after buying an additional 37,149 shares in the last quarter. Adams Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter worth about $7,690,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 815,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,385,000 after buying an additional 88,576 shares in the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.