Vectors Research Management LLC Boosts Stake in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Vectors Research Management LLC increased its position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 2.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 29,006 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 635 shares during the period. Vectors Research Management LLC’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Conagra Brands by 237.9% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 76,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,281,000 after purchasing an additional 54,195 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the 1st quarter valued at about $7,429,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 573.4% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 38,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 32,396 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Conagra Brands in the third quarter valued at $1,020,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in Conagra Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,829,000. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAG has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. BNP Paribas raised shares of Conagra Brands to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Conagra Brands in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.63.

Conagra Brands Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Conagra Brands stock opened at $27.46 on Friday. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.62 and a 1 year high of $33.24. The company has a market capitalization of $13.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 2nd. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.07). Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 13.71% and a net margin of 4.14%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. Conagra Brands’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.10%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is presently 135.92%.

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.