HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 46,979 Shares of Conagra Brands $CAG

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 44.3% in the first quarter, holding 153,056 shares worth approximately $4.08 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Deutsche Bank AG and Vanguard Group Inc., made significant increases to their positions in Conagra Brands, with 83.75% of the stock now owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Conagra Brands reported a miss on earnings with $0.56 per share against an expected $0.61, and its revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to last year.

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 44.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 153,056 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 46,979 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $4,082,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAG. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 22,587 shares of the company's stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 5,415 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,459,844 shares of the company's stock worth $151,503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,585 shares in the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 20,618 shares of the company's stock worth $572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 126,307 shares of the company's stock worth $3,505,000 after acquiring an additional 1,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 112.0% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 42,177 shares of the company's stock worth $1,170,000 after acquiring an additional 22,281 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company's stock.

Conagra Brands Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of Conagra Brands stock traded down $0.37 on Tuesday, reaching $18.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 55,004,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,670,493. The company has a market capitalization of $8.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.08. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $19.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.87. Conagra Brands has a 52 week low of $18.18 and a 52 week high of $33.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

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

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.5%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CAG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Conagra Brands from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Bank of America lowered 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. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $21.00 target price on Conagra Brands and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Conagra Brands from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.