Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Grows Position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 11.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 119,766 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,631 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $3,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 27.6% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 749,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,207,000 after acquiring an additional 162,188 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the first quarter valued at about $579,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the first quarter valued at about $618,000. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 3.1% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 135,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,029,000 after buying an additional 4,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the first quarter valued at about $307,000. 83.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Conagra Brands

In other news, EVP Charisse Brock sold 15,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.37, for a total transaction of $469,034.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 113,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,439,523.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on CAG. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Conagra Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.38.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAG opened at $28.37 on Friday. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.16 and a twelve month high of $33.60. The company’s 50 day moving average is $29.50 and its 200 day moving average is $29.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $13.56 billion, a PE ratio of 14.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.32.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 7.86% and a return on equity of 14.25%. Conagra Brands’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.93%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is 70.35%.

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.