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

Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $30.33.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CAG. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of 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. cut their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

NYSE CAG opened at $25.10 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.28. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.96. Conagra Brands has a 1 year low of $24.85 and a 1 year high of $33.24.

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 business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.58%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is 137.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Conagra Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAG. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 65.8% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 18,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $512,000 after buying an additional 7,143 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 3.3% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 155,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,421,000 after buying an additional 4,914 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 10.2% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 1,018 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Conagra Brands in the second quarter valued at $1,482,000. Finally, SPC Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 18.9% in the second quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 10,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

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.