Paralel Advisors LLC Purchases 7,696 Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Paralel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 84,708 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,696 shares during the quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $2,351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Conagra Brands by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,798,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,631,671,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132,839 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 12,285,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,048,000 after acquiring an additional 618,096 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Conagra Brands by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,745,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,096,000 after buying an additional 231,477 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Conagra Brands by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,161,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,728,000 after buying an additional 1,745,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $168,877,000. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

Conagra Brands stock traded up $0.10 during trading on Thursday, hitting $25.79. The stock had a trading volume of 146,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,093,441. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.06 and a 1 year high of $33.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $25.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.23. The stock has a market cap of $12.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.27.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its 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). The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 13.76%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 205.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CAG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Conagra Brands in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup cut their target price on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Conagra Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $33.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.90.

Conagra Brands Profile

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.