Bell Bank Raises Stock Holdings in Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG)

Bell Bank increased its position in Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 9.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 310,831 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 28,006 shares during the quarter. Bell Bank owned about 0.07% of Conagra Brands worth $8,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 914,820 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter worth about $558,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter worth about $2,035,000. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 63,249 shares of the company's stock worth $1,755,000 after purchasing an additional 9,838 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter worth about $5,034,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.75% of the company's stock.

Conagra Brands Trading Down 0.3%

Conagra Brands stock traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $21.49. The company had a trading volume of 5,839,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,573,658. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Conagra Brands has a 12-month low of $21.18 and a 12-month high of $33.24. The firm has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $23.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.28.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.01). Conagra Brands had a net margin of 2.80% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. Conagra Brands's quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.52%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 205.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CAG shares. Barclays dropped their price target on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group started coverage on Conagra Brands in a research report on Monday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Bank of America downgraded Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $27.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Conagra Brands in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $25.36.

Conagra Brands 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.