Vident Advisory LLC Grows Position in Conagra Brands $CAG

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 53.2% during the first quarter, owning a total of 85,345 shares valued at approximately $2.28 million.
• Conagra Brands' recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.56, missing expectations, with a revenue of $2.78 billion which also fell short of forecasts.
• The company's quarterly dividend was set at $0.35, reflecting a 7.3% yield, with a payout ratio of 58.58%.

Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 53.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,345 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 29,646 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $2,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in Conagra Brands by 82.3% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the period. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Conagra Brands by 235.2% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares during the period. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company's stock.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

CAG stock traded up $0.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $19.31. 8,234,447 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,195,150. Conagra Brands has a 52 week low of $18.18 and a 52 week high of $33.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.07.

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 $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. Conagra Brands's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.2%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America cut shares of Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. 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. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.