Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Reaches New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) shares hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $29.00 to $26.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Conagra Brands traded as low as $22.63 and last traded at $22.99, with a volume of 1076700 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $23.31.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Conagra Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $26.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.50.

Institutional Trading of Conagra Brands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 78,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,166,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 65.4% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Conagra Brands by 3.2% in the first quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 14,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 82.3% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.18. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.24.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 3rd. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 13.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 205.88%.

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.