FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co Grows Holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co raised its position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 24.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,042 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,794 shares during the period. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $251,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAG. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 65.4% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 1,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of Conagra Brands stock opened at $25.34 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $12.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.84, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.06 and a 12-month high of $33.24.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 13.76%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. Conagra Brands’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.52%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 137.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAG. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Conagra Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $33.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Eight 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.67.

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.