Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Buys Shares of 93,330 Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 93,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,590,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $168,877,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter worth $110,704,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Conagra Brands by 51.6% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,664,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,184,000 after acquiring an additional 1,928,883 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,161,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,728,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745,319 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,798,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,631,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132,839 shares in the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of Conagra Brands stock opened at $22.97 on Friday. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.38 and a twelve month high of $33.24. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.15. The firm has a market cap of $10.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.18.

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

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 205.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Conagra Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $26.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.50.

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.