American Century Companies Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Conagra Brands $CAG

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Conagra Brands by 27.7%, now holding approximately 6.9 million shares valued at $185.17 million.
• Recent analyst reports have lowered price targets for Conagra Brands, with multiple firms setting targets around $21.00 and rating it as a "hold."
• Conagra Brands recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, yielding approximately 7.3%, with the dividend payout ratio at 58.58%.

American Century Companies Inc. cut its stake in Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 27.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,942,912 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,656,493 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.45% of Conagra Brands worth $185,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAG. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 104.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,793,701 shares of the company's stock worth $49,776,000 after acquiring an additional 914,820 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 842,094 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,459,000 after acquiring an additional 89,445 shares during the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the 1st quarter valued at about $396,000. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 42.1% during the 1st quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,821 shares of the company's stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 3,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 259,697 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,926,000 after acquiring an additional 16,546 shares during the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

NYSE CAG traded up $0.0450 on Thursday, reaching $19.2950. 2,901,581 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,684,447. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.24 billion, a PE ratio of 8.06, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Conagra Brands has a one year low of $18.18 and a one year high of $33.24. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $19.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.05.

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. Analysts expect 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. 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 7.3%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $21.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Conagra Brands currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.