Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Takes $2.59 Million Position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 93,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 171.0% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,640 shares of the company's stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 9,868 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 141.7% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 202,902 shares of the company's stock worth $5,631,000 after buying an additional 118,970 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 35,519 shares of the company's stock valued at $986,000 after acquiring an additional 4,678 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 18,479 shares of the company's stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 1,688 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $218,000. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAG. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Conagra Brands from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.50.

Conagra Brands Stock Down 0.2%

Conagra Brands stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $22.66. The stock had a trading volume of 6,821,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,409,703. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.18. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $24.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.70. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.98 and a 1-year high of $33.24.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 3rd. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 13.76%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. Conagra Brands's revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.18%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio is 205.88%.

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.