Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) have been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the eighteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.3333.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Conagra Brands from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Conagra Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Conagra Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard H. Lenny bought 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $14.34 per share, for a total transaction of $358,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 229,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,288,735.60. This represents a 12.23% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John J. Mulligan bought 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.31 per share, with a total value of $250,425.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,728 shares in the company, valued at $296,617.68. The trade was a 542.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Conagra Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAG. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 954 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Conagra Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Conagra Brands by 5.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 36,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $970,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in Conagra Brands by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 40,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 11,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in Conagra Brands by 3.9% in the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 50,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

Shares of CAG opened at $13.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a PE ratio of -137.31 and a beta of -0.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $14.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.35. Conagra Brands has a 12-month low of $12.53 and a 12-month high of $22.49.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. Conagra Brands had a negative net margin of 0.39% and a positive return on equity of 10.15%. The business’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Conagra Brands will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.2%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is presently -1,400.00%.

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.