Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) have received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.7333.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CAG shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Conagra Brands from $17.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Conagra Brands from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Evercore cut their price objective on Conagra Brands from $19.00 to $18.00 in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Conagra Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Conagra Brands news, Director John J. Mulligan bought 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $14.31 per share, for a total transaction of $250,425.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 20,728 shares in the company, valued at $296,617.68. This represents a 542.13% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard H. Lenny bought 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $14.34 per share, with a total value of $358,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 229,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,288,735.60. This represents a 12.23% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Conagra Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands in the second quarter worth about $26,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 80.4% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 156.9% during the 1st quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Conagra Brands Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE CAG opened at $13.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.66 billion and a PE ratio of -139.24. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.85. Conagra Brands has a 52-week low of $13.42 and a 52-week high of $23.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 1st. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. Conagra Brands had a negative net margin of 0.39% and a positive return on equity of 10.15%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.1%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,400.00%.

Conagra Brands Company Profile

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.