Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $20.38, but opened at $19.33. Conagra Brands shares last traded at $19.90, with a volume of 8,671,021 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2,781,800 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%. The business's revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 EPS.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.22%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. Conagra Brands's payout ratio is presently 205.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.73.

Institutional Trading of Conagra Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Conagra Brands by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 78,038 shares of the company's stock worth $2,166,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 14,548 shares of the company's stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 82.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40,455 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,030,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 65,680 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,823,000 after buying an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.75% of the company's stock.

Conagra Brands Stock Down 0.5%

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $21.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.47. The company has a market capitalization of $9.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.11, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

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.