USS Investment Management Ltd Has $1.95 Million Stock Holdings in Conagra Brands $CAG

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd reduced its stake in Conagra Brands by 68.3%, selling 157,500 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with 73,181 shares valued at approximately $1.95 million.
• Conagra Brands reported a Q2 EPS of $0.56, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61, and a revenue of $2.78 billion, which was also below the expected $2.88 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, yielding 7.2%, with a payout ratio of 58.58% as of the latest report.

USS Investment Management Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 68.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 73,181 shares of the company's stock after selling 157,500 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $1,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Conagra Brands by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,403,845 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,610,971,000 after buying an additional 1,604,893 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 6.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 8,135,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,746,000 after acquiring an additional 2,058,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 233.7% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,985,256 shares of the company's stock valued at $159,625,000 after acquiring an additional 4,191,555 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company's stock.

Conagra Brands Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:CAG traded down $0.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $19.18. 5,349,645 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,106,630. The stock has a market cap of $9.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.07. Conagra Brands has a fifty-two week low of $18.18 and a fifty-two week high of $33.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $19.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.41. 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 (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 9.92%.The firm's revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on CAG shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Conagra Brands from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America cut Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their target price for the company from $27.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Conagra Brands from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Conagra Brands in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Conagra Brands from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.