AIA Group Ltd Purchases 142,585 Shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG)

Key Points

• AIA Group Ltd significantly increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 1,004.3%, owning 156,782 shares valued at approximately $4.18 million following the purchase of an additional 142,585 shares.
• Conagra Brands recently reported earnings per share of $0.56, missing analysts' expectations and showing a 4.3% revenue decline compared to the previous year.
• The company's dividend yield is 7.3%, with a quarterly dividend of $0.35 being paid to investors, reflecting a solid payout ratio of 58.58%.

AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 1,004.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 156,782 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 142,585 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $4,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAG. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 8,135,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,746,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058,000 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,664,293 shares of the company's stock worth $157,184,000 after acquiring an additional 1,928,883 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 560.1% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,042,766 shares of the company's stock worth $54,480,000 after acquiring an additional 1,733,297 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,403,845 shares of the company's stock worth $1,610,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604,893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 5,102.8% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,216,421 shares of the company's stock worth $32,442,000 after acquiring an additional 1,193,041 shares during the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Conagra Brands from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Conagra Brands from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $21.00 price objective on Conagra Brands and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $21.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Conagra Brands currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $22.58.

Conagra Brands Trading Up 0.2%

CAG traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $19.53. 8,180,528 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,724,946. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Conagra Brands has a 52 week low of $18.18 and a 52 week high of $33.24.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.2%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.