Woodline Partners LP Makes New Investment in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 28,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $795,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Conagra Brands by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 55,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 9,869 shares in the last quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $13,323,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,058,000 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 4,738,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $131,491,000 after buying an additional 454,163 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 43,573 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,209,000 after buying an additional 9,966 shares during the period. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Conagra Brands from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.50.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

Shares of CAG stock traded down $0.06 on Thursday, hitting $22.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,821,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,409,703. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock's 50 day moving average is $24.55 and its 200-day moving average is $25.80. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.98 and a fifty-two week high of $33.24. The company has a market capitalization of $10.81 billion, a PE ratio of 22.21, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.18.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company posted $0.69 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.18%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.