Exeter Financial LLC Trims Holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Exeter Financial LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 93,844 shares of the company’s stock after selling 775 shares during the period. Exeter Financial LLC’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $2,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAG. Courier Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 27,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $880,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 0.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 87,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,836,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 2.3% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 16,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 0.7% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 52,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,716,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 1.5% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 25,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Conagra Brands stock opened at $26.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $12.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $27.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.32. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.85 and a 1 year high of $33.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.15 billion. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 13.71% and a net margin of 4.14%. Conagra Brands’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.58 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, February 27th. Investors of record on Monday, January 27th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 137.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Conagra Brands to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America cut their target price on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup lowered their price target 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. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.56.

Conagra Brands 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.