Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Lowered to Neutral Rating by The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has $26.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $33.00.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on CAG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays dropped their price target on Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Friday, December 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.67.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of Conagra Brands stock opened at $25.34 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.10 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.28. Conagra Brands has a 12 month low of $23.06 and a 12 month high of $33.24. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $26.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 4.13%. The business’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.52%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is 137.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in Conagra Brands by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 399,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,085,000 after acquiring an additional 62,187 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Conagra Brands by 110.8% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 36,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,196,000 after acquiring an additional 19,329 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 78,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,175,000 after purchasing an additional 22,790 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 12,285,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,048,000 after purchasing an additional 618,096 shares during the period. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the third quarter worth $1,020,000. 83.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.