Conagra Brands $CAG Stock Holdings Boosted by Voya Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC significantly increased its holdings in Conagra Brands by 112.7%, now owning 305,596 shares worth approximately $8.15 million.
• Conagra Brands experienced a decline in its earnings per share, reporting $0.56 for the quarter, missing estimates, while revenue also fell by 4.3% compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, reflecting a 7.4% yield, with a payout ratio of 58.58%.

Voya Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 112.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 305,596 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 161,921 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Conagra Brands worth $8,150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAG. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter valued at about $628,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 3,661.1% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 12,863 shares of the company's stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 12,521 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter worth about $436,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 85,381 shares of the company's stock worth $2,369,000 after buying an additional 6,895 shares during the period. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 41,425 shares of the company's stock worth $1,150,000 after buying an additional 4,449 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAG has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Conagra Brands from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Conagra Brands in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Bank of America cut Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.17.

Conagra Brands Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE CAG traded down $0.22 on Friday, hitting $18.53. 20,475,347 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,546,780. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.10 and a 200 day moving average of $22.08. Conagra Brands has a twelve month low of $18.18 and a twelve month high of $32.90. The company has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.07. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 30th. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.58%.

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.