Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) Short Interest Update

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 17,030,000 shares, a growth of 11.8% from the August 31st total of 15,230,000 shares. Approximately 3.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 4,790,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Conagra Brands Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CAG traded down $0.02 on Friday, reaching $32.47. The company had a trading volume of 2,687,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,696,643. Conagra Brands has a 52-week low of $25.16 and a 52-week high of $33.24. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.52 billion, a PE ratio of 44.48, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.04. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 14.31% and a net margin of 2.88%. The business had revenue of $2.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 2.61 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, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.31%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is 191.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CAG. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America raised their price target on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Conagra Brands in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.10.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s 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 approximately $4,890,108.47. The transaction 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.

Institutional Trading of Conagra Brands

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 20.5% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 11,013,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,004,000 after buying an additional 1,871,238 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,313,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,602,000 after purchasing an additional 633,794 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 148.2% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 2,535,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,048,000 after purchasing an additional 1,513,726 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 1,362.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,406,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,400,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,294,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,209,000 after purchasing an additional 78,487 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.