Magnetar Financial LLC Makes New $1.60 Million Investment in Conagra Brands $CAG

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC has purchased a new stake in Conagra Brands, acquiring 59,831 shares valued at approximately $1.6 million during the first quarter.
• Conagra Brands reported earnings of $0.56 per share, missing analysts' expectations, with quarterly revenue of $2.78 billion, down 4.3% from the previous year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 7.3%.

Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 59,831 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,596,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 2.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,403,845 shares of the company's stock worth $1,610,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604,893 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,859,985 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,306,000 after acquiring an additional 698,630 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 49.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,162,251 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,686,000 after acquiring an additional 2,702,407 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake 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. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 233.7% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,985,256 shares of the company's stock worth $159,625,000 after acquiring an additional 4,191,555 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on CAG. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $26.00 to $21.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Barclays lowered their target price 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. UBS Group reduced their price target on Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Conagra Brands and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.17.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of Conagra Brands stock traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $19.00. 5,844,252 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,088,635. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.09 billion, a PE ratio of 7.95, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.07. The business has a 50-day moving average of $19.44 and a 200 day moving average of $22.65. Conagra Brands has a fifty-two week low of $18.18 and a fifty-two week high of $33.24. 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 (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.05). Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 9.92%.The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 30th. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio is 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.