Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $30.56.

A number of equities analysts have commented on CAG shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. BNP Paribas raised Conagra Brands to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAG. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 82.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 927 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Conagra Brands in the third quarter worth about $47,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Conagra Brands during the 3rd quarter worth about $59,000. Quarry LP increased its position in Conagra Brands by 229.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 27,057.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,894 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

NYSE:CAG opened at $26.59 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.35. Conagra Brands has a 52 week low of $26.21 and a 52 week high of $33.24. The stock has a market cap of $12.69 billion, a PE ratio of 25.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.14% and a return on equity of 13.71%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. Conagra Brands’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Conagra Brands will post 2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 27th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 137.25%.

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.