Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Buys Shares of 119,555 Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG)

Key Points

• Cary Street Partners Financial LLC recently acquired 119,555 shares of Conagra Brands, valued at approximately $3.19 million, highlighting renewed interest from institutional investors in the company.
• Several analysts have downgraded Conagra Brands' stock ratings, with Goldman Sachs lowering its target from $26.00 to $21.00, contributing to a more cautious outlook on the company's performance.
• Conagra Brands declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, reflecting a strong dividend yield of 7.5%, despite recent earnings per share missing consensus estimates.

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 119,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,189,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 8,135,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,746,000 after buying an additional 2,058,000 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,664,293 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,184,000 after acquiring an additional 1,928,883 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Conagra Brands by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,161,355 shares of the company's stock valued at $309,728,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745,319 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 560.1% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,042,766 shares of the company's stock worth $54,480,000 after purchasing an additional 1,733,297 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Conagra Brands by 5,102.8% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,216,421 shares of the company's stock worth $32,442,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193,041 shares during the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Conagra Brands stock remained flat at $19.25 during mid-day trading on Friday. 9,647,977 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,510,451. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $20.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.41. Conagra Brands has a 12 month low of $18.18 and a 12 month high of $33.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.08.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last posted 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). Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 9.92%. The firm had revenue of $2,781,800 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. Conagra Brands's payout ratio is currently 58.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.58.

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.