CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Increases Stock Holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 572,680 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 60,677 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.12% of Conagra Brands worth $15,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAG. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 65.4% in the fourth 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 last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. 83.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of CAG stock traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $24.44. The company had a trading volume of 6,447,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,123,777. The company has a market capitalization of $11.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.27. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $25.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.78. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.06 and a 52-week high of $33.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 in the previous year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.73%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 205.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CAG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Conagra Brands from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $26.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.90.

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.