Nuveen LLC Invests $29.24 Million in Conagra Brands $CAG

Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,096,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,238,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Conagra Brands at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Conagra Brands by 2.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,403,845 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,610,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604,893 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Conagra Brands by 6.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,859,985 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,306,000 after purchasing an additional 698,630 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Conagra Brands by 33.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Conagra Brands by 51.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,664,293 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,459,844 shares of the company's stock worth $151,503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,585 shares in the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of CAG stock traded up $0.2740 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $19.5740. 3,194,247 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,681,327. Conagra Brands has a 12 month low of $18.18 and a 12 month high of $33.24. The company has a market cap of $9.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company's 50-day moving average price is $19.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.01.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). Conagra Brands had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The business had revenue of $2,781,800 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. Conagra Brands's payout ratio is 58.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAG. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Conagra Brands and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $21.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of 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 report on Thursday, June 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.17.

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.