AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 629,789 Shares of Conagra Brands $CAG

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 85.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,365,445 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 629,789 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.29% of Conagra Brands worth $36,416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in Conagra Brands by 82.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Conagra Brands by 235.2% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares during the period. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company's stock.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

CAG traded down $0.13 on Friday, hitting $19.32. 1,946,434 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,084,790. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $19.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.41. The firm has a market cap of $9.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.07. Conagra Brands has a one year low of $18.18 and a one year high of $33.04. 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 (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 $2.78 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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 30th. Conagra Brands's payout ratio is currently 58.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on CAG. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $21.00 price objective on Conagra Brands and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on 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 decreased their target price 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. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands presently 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.