Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the ten brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $33.14.

A number of analysts have weighed in on CAG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

CAG stock opened at $30.94 on Tuesday. 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 capitalization of $14.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.55, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.72. Conagra Brands has a twelve month low of $25.16 and a twelve month high of $38.73.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 4th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 7.86% and a return on equity of 14.25%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. Conagra Brands’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.53%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is 70.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Conagra Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 14,171,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,580,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737,380 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Conagra Brands by 37.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,675,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,294,000 after buying an additional 2,619,372 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Conagra Brands by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 8,426,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,517,000 after buying an additional 1,330,249 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 3.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,002,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,585,000 after acquiring an additional 220,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $140,473,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

About Conagra Brands

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.