Versor Investments LP Grows Position in Conagra Brands $CAG

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP increased its holdings in Conagra Brands by 176.5% in Q1, acquiring 24,000 shares for a total of 37,600 shares worth approximately $1 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Deutsche Bank, have also raised their stakes in Conagra Brands, reflecting significant institutional interest in the stock.
• Conagra Brands reported a quarterly EPS of $0.56, missing estimates, and announced a dividend of $0.35 per share, yielding 7.4% annually.

Versor Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 176.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,600 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 24,000 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP's holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $1,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 104.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,793,701 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,776,000 after buying an additional 914,820 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 11.9% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 842,094 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,459,000 after buying an additional 89,445 shares during the period. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the first quarter valued at approximately $396,000. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 42.1% during the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,821 shares of the company's stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 3,207 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 6.8% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 259,697 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,926,000 after buying an additional 16,546 shares during the period. 83.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Stock Up 1.9%

Conagra Brands stock traded up $0.3730 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $19.6730. The company had a trading volume of 12,181,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,600,031. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $19.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.97. Conagra Brands has a 12 month low of $18.18 and a 12 month high of $33.24. The company has a market capitalization of $9.42 billion, a PE ratio of 8.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.08.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last released 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). 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 analysts' expectations of $2.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.1%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CAG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Conagra Brands in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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. UBS Group reduced their price target on Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Conagra Brands from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $21.00 target price on Conagra Brands and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.17.

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.