Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) Short Interest Update

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,950,000 shares, an increase of 9.9% from the December 31st total of 14,510,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,850,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days. Currently, 3.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Conagra Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CAG. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 82.8% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 927 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 65.4% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Conagra Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. 83.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays dropped their price target on Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.33.

Conagra Brands Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of Conagra Brands stock traded down $0.41 on Monday, reaching $25.48. The stock had a trading volume of 4,018,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,467,889. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $26.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 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 has a 1 year low of $25.06 and a 1 year 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 4.13%. The company’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Conagra Brands will post 2.46 EPS for the current 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is 137.26%.

About Conagra Brands

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.