KBC Group NV Buys 1,733,297 Shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG)

KBC Group NV increased its position in Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 560.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,042,766 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,733,297 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned about 0.43% of Conagra Brands worth $54,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CAG. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter worth $2,035,000. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter worth $377,000. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 212,694 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,902,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in Conagra Brands by 84.8% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 28,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $785,000 after buying an additional 12,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 215,093 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,969,000 after acquiring an additional 16,001 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.75% of the company's stock.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

Shares of CAG traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $20.46. 9,555,196 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,719,771. The firm has a market cap of $9.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.14. Conagra Brands has a 52 week low of $20.26 and a 52 week high of $33.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $22.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.92.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 2.80%. Conagra Brands's quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. Conagra Brands's payout ratio is 205.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on CAG. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Bank of America downgraded Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $27.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.36.

Conagra Brands 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.