Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Sells 490 Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 17.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,369 shares of the company’s stock after selling 490 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $65,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Conagra Brands by 49.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 22,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $737,000 after buying an additional 7,500 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 573,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,660,000 after purchasing an additional 3,597 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd raised its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 13,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 2,275 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 7.0% in the third quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,000 after buying an additional 1,448 shares in the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Trading Up 4.9 %

Shares of CAG stock opened at $27.25 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.18. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.19. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.06 and a twelve month high of $33.24.

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. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during 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 company’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Monday, January 27th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.14%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 27th. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is presently 137.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Conagra Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.