Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Shares Sold by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its position in shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 18.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,211 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,048 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $1,713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Conagra Brands during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 82.3% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Conagra Brands by 235.2% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares during the period. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Conagra Brands in the first quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on CAG. Bank of America lowered shares of Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on 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, UBS Group lowered their price target on Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.58.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Conagra Brands stock remained flat at $19.25 during mid-day trading on Friday. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,647,977 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,656,663. Conagra Brands has a one year low of $18.18 and a one year high of $33.24. The firm has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

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

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.3%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.58%.

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.