Aberdeen Group plc Boosts Stock Position in Conagra Brands $CAG

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 98.2%, owning approximately $8.50 million worth of shares as of the latest SEC filing.
• Conagra Brands reported $0.56 EPS for the last quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61, and experienced a 4.3% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a dividend of $0.35 per share, resulting in a 7.3% yield, with the ex-dividend date scheduled for July 30th.

Aberdeen Group plc lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 98.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 317,924 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 157,486 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.07% of Conagra Brands worth $8,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 22,587 shares of the company's stock worth $627,000 after purchasing an additional 5,415 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,459,844 shares of the company's stock worth $151,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,585 shares in the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 20,618 shares of the company's stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 126,307 shares of the company's stock worth $3,505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 112.0% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 42,177 shares of the company's stock worth $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 22,281 shares in the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of Conagra Brands stock traded up $0.3730 on Friday, hitting $19.6730. 12,181,329 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,600,031. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.71. Conagra Brands has a 52 week low of $18.18 and a 52 week high of $33.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.97.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2,781,800 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. Research analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.1%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America cut shares of Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Conagra Brands currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.17.

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.