Conagra Brands $CAG Shares Bought by Sowell Financial Services LLC

Key Points

• Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 65.2% during the second quarter, acquiring 39,237 shares valued at approximately $803,000.
• Despite recent investments, analysts have downgraded Conagra Brands' ratings, with Goldman Sachs lowering its rating to sell and decreasing the price target from $26.00 to $21.00.
• Conagra Brands reported a quarterly loss in earnings per share, missing analysts' expectations, with revenues down 4.3% compared to the same period last year.

Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its position in Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 65.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 39,237 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,487 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC's holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CAG. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Conagra Brands by 3.2% during the first quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 14,548 shares of the company's stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 33.6% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,009 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the period. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC now owns 35,860 shares of the company's stock valued at $995,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the period. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 29,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $798,000 after buying an additional 536 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CAG. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Conagra Brands from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Conagra Brands in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Conagra Brands from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $22.17.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAG opened at $18.18 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.07. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.99. 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 has a twelve month low of $18.12 and a twelve month high of $32.90.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for 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%.Conagra Brands's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 30th. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.58%.

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.

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