Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.90.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

CAG stock opened at $31.20 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $14.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.59. Conagra Brands has a 1 year low of $25.16 and a 1 year high of $31.82.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.04. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 14.31% and a net margin of 2.88%. The firm had revenue of $2.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.49%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is 191.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Conagra Brands

In other news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.29, for a total value of $1,211,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 161,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,890,108.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Conagra Brands

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Conagra Brands in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Advantage Trust Co bought a new stake in Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in Conagra Brands by 144.4% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.