Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.67.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Friday, December 20th. 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 note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup 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 note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Conagra Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in Conagra Brands by 2.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 0.7% in the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 52,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,716,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 1.5% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 25,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $820,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 78,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,166,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 65.4% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

NYSE CAG opened at $25.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.19 billion, a PE ratio of 25.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.28. Conagra Brands has a 12 month low of $23.06 and a 12 month high of $33.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.39.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Monday, January 27th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.48%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is currently 137.25%.

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.