New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Stake in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 223,657 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,500 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $6,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Conagra Brands by 65.4% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $55,000 after buying an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America decreased their price target 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. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Conagra Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.67.

Conagra Brands Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CAG opened at $25.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $12.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.28. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.06 and a 52-week high of $33.24. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.42.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.15 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 13.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 27th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 27th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.