LPL Financial LLC Acquires 21,715 Shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 4.8%, acquiring an additional 21,715 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to approximately $12.57 million.
• Several large investors significantly increased their positions in Conagra Brands, with notable increases from Invesco Ltd., Two Sigma Advisers LP, and Deutsche Bank AG during the fourth quarter.
• Conagra Brands missed earnings expectations for the latest quarter, reporting $0.56 EPS, below the consensus estimate of $0.61, and saw a 4.3% year-over-year decline in revenue.

LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 4.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 471,254 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,715 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Conagra Brands worth $12,568,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Conagra Brands by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,161,355 shares of the company's stock valued at $309,728,000 after buying an additional 1,745,319 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 8,135,000 shares of the company's stock worth $225,746,000 after acquiring an additional 2,058,000 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 51.6% in the fourth 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 period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Conagra Brands by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,459,844 shares of the company's stock valued at $151,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,585 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Conagra Brands by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,149,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,888,000 after purchasing an additional 692,282 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CAG shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Conagra Brands from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Conagra Brands from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America cut Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.58.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of Conagra Brands stock opened at $19.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Conagra Brands has a twelve month low of $18.18 and a twelve month high of $33.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.45. The firm has a market cap of $9.18 billion, a PE ratio of 8.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.08.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 $2,781,800 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 quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.3%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.58%.

About Conagra Brands

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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