Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Takes $2.17 Million Position in Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired 81,258 shares of Conagra Brands, valued at approximately $2,167,000, during the first quarter.
• Conagra Brands reported $0.56 EPS for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations of $0.61, and experienced a 4.3% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, representing an annualized yield of **7.55%**.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 81,258 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,167,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 235.2% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Conagra Brands Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE:CAG traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $18.52. 11,513,183 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,705,398. Conagra Brands has a twelve month low of $18.18 and a twelve 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.79 and a 200 day moving average of $23.64. The stock has a market cap of $8.84 billion, a PE ratio of 7.75, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.08.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. The company's revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.6%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio is 58.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on CAG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. Bank of America cut Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $27.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.58.

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.