Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eleven brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $27.10.

CAG has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Conagra Brands from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $33.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

CAG stock traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $22.24. The company had a trading volume of 4,414,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,439,127. The company has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.18. Conagra Brands has a 12-month low of $21.98 and a 12-month high of $33.24. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $24.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.64.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.01). The business 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 firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.29%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 205.88%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Conagra Brands

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 104.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,793,701 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,776,000 after purchasing an additional 914,820 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 78,414 shares of the company's stock worth $2,175,000 after buying an additional 22,790 shares during the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter worth $558,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter worth $2,035,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 63,249 shares of the company's stock worth $1,755,000 after purchasing an additional 9,838 shares during the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.