Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $16.54 and last traded at $16.4260, with a volume of 2711609 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $16.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CAG shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Conagra Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $19.00.

Conagra Brands Stock Down 2.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $7.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -74.52 and a beta of -0.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $17.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.54.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3 billion. Conagra Brands had a negative net margin of 0.87% and a positive return on equity of 10.59%. Conagra Brands’s revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. Conagra Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.700-1.85 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 27th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 27th. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is presently -636.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Melissa C. Napier sold 13,011 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.19, for a total value of $223,659.09. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Conagra Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Conagra Brands by 27.2% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 207,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,536,000 after purchasing an additional 44,443 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 4.2% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 23,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $628,000 after acquiring an additional 954 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 60,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,612,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the 1st quarter valued at about $333,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,105,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,494,000 after purchasing an additional 189,308 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

About Conagra Brands

Conagra Brands, Inc is a leading packaged foods company based in Chicago, Illinois, with a broad portfolio of shelf-stable, frozen and refrigerated foods marketed under familiar brands. The company develops, produces and distributes a wide range of consumer food products, serving both retail grocery and foodservice channels. Conagra’s product lineup includes frozen entrees, snacks, condiments, baking goods and desserts, providing convenient meal solutions for consumers across North America and select international markets.

Among its well-known brands are Birds Eye, Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Marie Callender’s and Banquet in the frozen foods category, as well as Hunt’s sauces, Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn, Slim Jim meat snacks and Reddi-wip toppings.