Alliancebernstein L.P. Lowers Holdings in Conagra Brands $CAG

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its stake in shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) by 45.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 641,317 shares of the company’s stock after selling 541,565 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $17,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CAG. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Conagra Brands by 85.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,365,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,416,000 after acquiring an additional 629,789 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Conagra Brands by 38.2% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 292,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,805,000 after purchasing an additional 80,912 shares in the last quarter. American Trust Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. American Trust Investment Advisors LLC now owns 196,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,232,000 after purchasing an additional 2,190 shares during the period. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,901,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,392,000 after purchasing an additional 248,081 shares during the period. Finally, Chiron Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 66.0% during the 1st quarter. Chiron Capital Management LLC now owns 25,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $691,000 after purchasing an additional 10,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of CAG opened at $19.46 on Friday. Conagra Brands has a 52-week low of $18.18 and a 52-week high of $33.04. The stock has a market cap of $9.32 billion, a PE ratio of 8.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $19.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 12.52%. Conagra Brands’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 30th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CAG. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Conagra Brands from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Conagra Brands in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.17.

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.