Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Sets New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $28.00 to $27.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Conagra Brands traded as low as $23.88 and last traded at $23.55, with a volume of 82534 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $25.28.

CAG has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lowered their price target on Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Conagra Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAG. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Trading Down 5.4 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $11.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.28.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 4.13%. Conagra Brands’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Monday, January 27th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.85%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 137.25%.

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.