Conagra Brands $CAG Position Cut by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management sharply reduced its Conagra Brands stake by 97.9% in the first quarter, selling more than 737,000 shares and leaving it with 16,006 shares worth about $252,000.
• Conagra reported mixed quarterly results, with earnings of $0.39 per share missing estimates by a penny while revenue of $2.79 billion slightly topped forecasts. Revenue still declined 1.9% year over year.
• Sentiment on the stock remains cautious: several analysts cut price targets, and the consensus rating is “Reduce” with an average target price of $14.13, close to the recent share price of $14.34.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its holdings in Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 97.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,006 shares of the company's stock after selling 737,108 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 2.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,202,392 shares of the company's stock valued at $536,363,000 after purchasing an additional 588,435 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,667,780 shares of the company's stock worth $305,829,000 after purchasing an additional 2,079,903 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Conagra Brands by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 17,622,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $305,044,000 after buying an additional 2,948,081 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Conagra Brands by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,229,557 shares of the company's stock valued at $263,624,000 after buying an additional 2,376,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,130,671 shares of the company's stock valued at $222,113,000 after buying an additional 1,984,873 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company's stock.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

Shares of Conagra Brands stock opened at $14.34 on Friday. Conagra Brands has a 12 month low of $12.53 and a 12 month high of $21.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a PE ratio of -143.34 and a beta of -0.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.95.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 1st. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. Conagra Brands had a positive return on equity of 10.15% and a negative net margin of 0.39%.The company's revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard H. Lenny acquired 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.34 per share, with a total value of $358,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 229,340 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,288,735.60. This trade represents a 12.23% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John J. Mulligan acquired 17,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $14.31 per share, for a total transaction of $250,425.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 20,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $296,617.68. This trade represents a 542.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CAG shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Conagra Brands from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Conagra Brands from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Conagra Brands from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. BTIG Research began coverage on Conagra Brands in a report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Conagra Brands from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $14.13.

About Conagra Brands

Conagra Brands, Inc is a leading packaged foods company based in Chicago, Illinois, with a broad portfolio of shelf-stable, frozen and refrigerated foods marketed under familiar brands. The company develops, produces and distributes a wide range of consumer food products, serving both retail grocery and foodservice channels. Conagra's product lineup includes frozen entrees, snacks, condiments, baking goods and desserts, providing convenient meal solutions for consumers across North America and select international markets.

Among its well-known brands are Birds Eye, Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Marie Callender's and Banquet in the frozen foods category, as well as Hunt's sauces, Orville Redenbacher's popcorn, Slim Jim meat snacks and Reddi-wip toppings.

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