Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Issues Earnings Results

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.13, Zacks reports. Conagra Brands had a positive return on equity of 11.46% and a negative net margin of 16.95%.The firm had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Conagra Brands updated its FY 2027 guidance to 1.400-1.500 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Conagra Brands’ conference call:

• Q2 organic sales are expected to decline approximately 2%, reflecting newly implemented pricing, prudent elasticity assumptions, and seasonal timing around Thanksgiving shipments.
• Full-year inflation remains projected at the high end of the 5%–6% range, as transportation inflation has accelerated and is expected to pressure gross margin and operating profit in Q2 and Q3.
• Despite a Q1 EPS beat driven by lower inflation, SG&A timing, Ardent Mills, and a tariff refund, management reaffirmed its full-year outlook. Q2 margins are expected to fall to the high-single-digit range as inflation rises, one-time SG&A benefits reverse, and A&P spending increases to about 3% of sales.
• Conagra ended Q1 at approximately 4.0x leverage and expects to repay about $250 million of debt this fiscal year, while maintaining a longer-term goal of reaching 3.0x leverage.
• Management is pursuing substantial SKU, format, formulation, and brand simplification, alongside increased marketing and innovation in single-serve meals, meat snacks, and popcorn. Most benefits are expected to emerge in fiscal 2028 through lower complexity, procurement savings, and improved shelf velocity.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

NYSE CAG opened at $13.20 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $15.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.57. The stock has a market cap of $6.31 billion, a PE ratio of -3.32 and a beta of 0.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.10. Conagra Brands has a fifty-two week low of $12.53 and a fifty-two week high of $20.32.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 5th will be given a $0.1750 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 5th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -17.50%.

More Conagra Brands News

Here are the key news stories impacting Conagra Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Conagra reported fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings of $0.41 per share and revenue of $2.60 billion, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.28 and $2.59 billion, respectively. Resilient demand for pantry staples such as Slim Jim helped support results. Conagra Brands beats first-quarter profit and sales estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management reaffirmed fiscal 2027 guidance, including adjusted EPS of $1.40 to $1.50, an adjusted operating margin of 10.0% to 10.5%, and organic net sales growth of negative 3% to negative 1%. Barclays also initiated or reiterated a Buy rating, providing some support for the shares. Conagra Brands receives a Buy from Barclays
• Neutral Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada maintained a Sector Perform rating and set a $14 price target, implying limited upside from the referenced trading level and signaling that analysts remain cautious about the recovery. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirms Sector Perform rating
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue declined 1.4% year over year, while organic sales and volumes weakened. The sales decline overshadowed the profit beat, particularly in the Grocery & Snacks and Refrigerated & Frozen segments, prompting an initial negative reaction in the stock. Conagra shares fall as sales decline
• Negative Sentiment: Operating profit and gross profit fell, free cash flow was negative $128 million, and net debt remained high at approximately $7.4 billion. Analysts also highlighted margin pressure and a difficult turnaround, limiting the benefit of Conagra’s roughly 5% dividend yield and low valuation. Conagra Brands turnaround analysis
• Negative Sentiment: An analyst warned that Conagra’s extensive frozen-food lineup may be cannibalizing its own products in an overcrowded category, raising concerns about innovation, shelf-space efficiency, and future volume growth. TV dinner overload in the frozen-food aisle

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CAG. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Evercore set a $13.00 target price on Conagra Brands in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $14.13.

About Conagra Brands

Conagra Brands, Inc is a packaged food company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The company develops, produces and markets branded food products sold through grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, convenience stores, foodservice operators and e-commerce channels.

Its portfolio includes frozen, refrigerated, grocery and snack products. Well-known brands include Birds Eye, Healthy Choice, Marie Callender’s, Banquet, Duncan Hines, Reddi-wip, Slim Jim, Hunt’s, Chef Boyardee, Orville Redenbacher’s, Vlasic, PAM and Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP.