Conagra Brands $CAG Stock Holdings Reduced by Cwm LLC

Key Points

• Institutional sell-off: Cwm LLC cut its stake in Conagra Brands by 33.9% in Q4, selling 89,330 shares and leaving 174,046 shares valued at about $3.01 million.
• Insider buying: Directors Richard H. Lenny and John J. Mulligan purchased 25,000 and 17,500 shares respectively on April 14 at roughly $14.34 and $14.31 per share, increasing their ownership.
• Attractive dividend: Conagra announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 ($1.40 annualized) implying a ~9.7% yield; the ex-dividend date is April 30 and the payment date is June 3.

Cwm LLC cut its position in shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 33.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 174,046 shares of the company's stock after selling 89,330 shares during the period. Cwm LLC's holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $3,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Conagra Brands by 4.2% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 23,541 shares of the company's stock valued at $628,000 after acquiring an additional 954 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Conagra Brands by 5.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 36,356 shares of the company's stock worth $970,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Conagra Brands by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 40,326 shares of the company's stock worth $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 11,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 50,450 shares of the company's stock worth $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Conagra Brands

In other Conagra Brands news, Director Richard H. Lenny bought 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $14.34 per share, with a total value of $358,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 229,340 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,288,735.60. This represents a 12.23% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John J. Mulligan purchased 17,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $14.31 per share, for a total transaction of $250,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $296,617.68. This trade represents a 542.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CAG shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Conagra Brands from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Conagra Brands from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $15.80.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

Shares of CAG opened at $14.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a PE ratio of -144.03 and a beta of 0.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Conagra Brands has a one year low of $14.04 and a one year high of $25.27. The company's fifty day moving average price is $16.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.36.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. Conagra Brands had a negative net margin of 0.39% and a positive return on equity of 10.15%. The firm's revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.7%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently -1,400.00%.

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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