First Bank & Trust Reduces Stock Holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

First Bank & Trust reduced its holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 74.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 14,354 shares of the company’s stock after selling 42,017 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $398,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hardy Reed LLC acquired a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $328,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Conagra Brands by 36.8% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 208,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,780,000 after acquiring an additional 56,012 shares during the period. Keene & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter worth $2,402,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund raised its position in Conagra Brands by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 14,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 757 shares during the period. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its position in Conagra Brands by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 564,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,667,000 after acquiring an additional 36,551 shares during the period. 83.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAG opened at $24.84 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.28. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.06 and a 52 week high of $33.24.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 13.76%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. Conagra Brands’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Monday, January 27th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 27th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 137.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America reduced 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. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Seven equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.78.

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.