Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Sets New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $25.27 and last traded at $25.58, with a volume of 335076 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BNP Paribas raised Conagra Brands to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Friday, December 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Conagra Brands has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.56.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $12.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.08 and a 200-day moving average of $29.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 13.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.46 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 27th. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is 137.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 21,015.0% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,654,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $346,495,000 after buying an additional 10,604,367 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 106.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 6,077,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $197,624,000 after acquiring an additional 3,133,200 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in Conagra Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $65,932,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,484,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $796,229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,691,945 shares during the period. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the 3rd quarter worth about $46,990,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

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.