Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases New Position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 159,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,430,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

Shares of CAG stock opened at $25.03 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $11.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.27. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $23.06 and a one year high of $33.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $25.70 and its 200 day moving average is $27.29.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 13.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.59%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 205.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on CAG. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Conagra Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.90.

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.