Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $26.38, but opened at $27.00. Conagra Brands shares last traded at $26.51, with a volume of 1,307,508 shares.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.27%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 137.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CAG shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America lowered their price target 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 lowered Conagra Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $26.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.20.

Conagra Brands Stock Up 0.7 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $25.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $12.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.18.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 4.13%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Conagra Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAG. Norges Bank bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter worth about $168,877,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter worth about $110,704,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 106.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 6,077,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $197,624,000 after purchasing an additional 3,133,200 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,664,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,161,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,728,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745,319 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Company 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.