Conagra Brands $CAG Shares Acquired by Man Group plc

Man Group plc raised its stake in Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) by 382.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 461,153 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 365,651 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $6,207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CAG. Western Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 205.6% in the second quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 46,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 31,105 shares in the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the 2nd quarter worth about $189,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,922,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Conagra Brands by 115.7% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 66,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $888,000 after acquiring an additional 35,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Conagra Brands by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,225,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,501,000 after acquiring an additional 214,180 shares during the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

Shares of CAG stock opened at $16.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.02 and a beta of -0.03. Conagra Brands has a one year low of $12.53 and a one year high of $20.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $14.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.24.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. Conagra Brands had a positive return on equity of 10.44% and a negative net margin of 16.99%.The business had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Conagra Brands has set its FY 2027 guidance at 1.400-1.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands will post 1.45 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.175 per share. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 30th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -17.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating and set a $12.00 target price (down from $16.00) on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Conagra Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Conagra Brands from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Evercore cut their price target on Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $13.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $14.07.

About Conagra Brands

Conagra Brands, Inc is a leading packaged foods company based in Chicago, Illinois, with a broad portfolio of shelf-stable, frozen and refrigerated foods marketed under familiar brands. The company develops, produces and distributes a wide range of consumer food products, serving both retail grocery and foodservice channels. Conagra’s product lineup includes frozen entrees, snacks, condiments, baking goods and desserts, providing convenient meal solutions for consumers across North America and select international markets.

Among its well-known brands are Birds Eye, Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Marie Callender’s and Banquet in the frozen foods category, as well as Hunt’s sauces, Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn, Slim Jim meat snacks and Reddi-wip toppings.