Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Price Target Lowered to $15.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus lowered its price target to $15.00 (from $17.00) and kept a "hold" rating, leaving only about a 1.15% upside from the current price; the consensus analyst target is roughly $15.93 with most analysts rating the stock "Hold"/"Reduce."
• Shares opened at $14.83 and are trading near their one‑year low ($14.04) with a $7.1B market cap; Conagra recently missed quarterly EPS by $0.01, posted a negative net margin and saw year‑over‑year revenue decline.
• Insiders bought shares on April 14 (two directors purchased 25,000 and 17,500 shares) while institutional ownership remains high at about 83.75%.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "hold" rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price target would indicate a potential upside of 1.15% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Conagra Brands from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $19.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Conagra Brands from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $15.93.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

CAG opened at $14.83 on Tuesday. Conagra Brands has a one year low of $14.04 and a one year high of $25.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $16.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -148.29 and a beta of 0.04.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.01). Conagra Brands had a negative net margin of 0.39% and a positive return on equity of 10.15%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. Conagra Brands's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Conagra Brands news, Director Richard H. Lenny acquired 25,000 shares of Conagra Brands stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.34 per share, with a total value of $358,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 229,340 shares in the company, valued at $3,288,735.60. The trade was a 12.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John J. Mulligan acquired 17,500 shares of Conagra Brands stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $14.31 per share, for a total transaction of $250,425.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 20,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $296,617.68. The trade was a 542.13% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Conagra Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 4.2% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 23,541 shares of the company's stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 954 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the first quarter worth $225,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 5.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 36,356 shares of the company's stock worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 40,326 shares of the company's stock worth $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 11,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 3.9% during the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 50,450 shares of the company's stock worth $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Conagra Brands

Conagra Brands, Inc is a leading packaged foods company based in Chicago, Illinois, with a broad portfolio of shelf-stable, frozen and refrigerated foods marketed under familiar brands. The company develops, produces and distributes a wide range of consumer food products, serving both retail grocery and foodservice channels. Conagra's product lineup includes frozen entrees, snacks, condiments, baking goods and desserts, providing convenient meal solutions for consumers across North America and select international markets.

Among its well-known brands are Birds Eye, Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Marie Callender's and Banquet in the frozen foods category, as well as Hunt's sauces, Orville Redenbacher's popcorn, Slim Jim meat snacks and Reddi-wip toppings.

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