Nomura Holdings Inc. Acquires Shares of 15,723 Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 15,723 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $436,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,798,952 shares of the company's stock worth $1,631,671,000 after buying an additional 1,132,839 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,745,629 shares of the company's stock worth $325,096,000 after buying an additional 231,477 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,161,355 shares of the company's stock worth $309,728,000 after buying an additional 1,745,319 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter worth about $168,877,000. Finally, 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 worth $157,184,000 after buying an additional 1,928,883 shares during the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CAG. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Conagra Brands from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $26.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Nine equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.50.

Conagra Brands Trading Up 2.2%

Conagra Brands stock traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $22.90. The company had a trading volume of 6,351,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,392,230. The firm has a market cap of $10.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.70. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.98 and a 1 year high of $33.24. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $24.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.83.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.84 billion during 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%. Conagra Brands's quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.11%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 205.88%.

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.