Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Trims Stock Position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its stake in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 151,637 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,851 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $4,208,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CAG. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 65.4% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Conagra Brands stock opened at $25.65 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.24 billion, a PE ratio of 25.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.18. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.06 and a 52 week high of $33.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 13.76%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Conagra Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Eight investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.33.

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.