Gotham Asset Management LLC Raises Position in Conagra Brands $CAG

Key Points

• Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Conagra Brands by 20.1% to 565,754 shares, valued at approximately $15.09 million, as of its latest SEC filing.
• Conagra Brands reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.56 for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61, with a revenue of $2.78 billion, below the expected $2.88 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, translating to an annual yield of 7.2%, with a payout ratio of 58.58%.

Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 20.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 565,754 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 94,555 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Conagra Brands worth $15,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands in the first quarter valued at $26,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in Conagra Brands by 82.3% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Conagra Brands by 235.2% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands in the first quarter valued at $34,000. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on CAG shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $21.00 price target on Conagra Brands and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Conagra Brands in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America cut Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.17.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAG traded down $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $19.38. 7,447,799 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,105,521. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $19.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.48. The company has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a PE ratio of 8.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.07. 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 12-month low of $18.18 and a 12-month high of $33.04.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.88 billion. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 9.92%.Conagra Brands's revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.2%. 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.