National Pension Service Cuts Stock Position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

National Pension Service trimmed its position in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 76.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 275,096 shares of the company’s stock after selling 885,153 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $7,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAG. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Conagra Brands by 65.4% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Conagra Brands by 36.2% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 1,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CAG shares. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Conagra Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $26.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Eight 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.67.

Conagra Brands Trading Down 0.1 %

Conagra Brands stock opened at $25.54 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $25.98 and its 200-day moving average is $28.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.70. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.06 and a 1 year high of $33.24. The company has a market cap of $12.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.04, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.28.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 27th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.48%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is currently 137.25%.

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.