Conagra Brands Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:CAG)

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 4,378 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 17% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,732 put options.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAG traded down $0.23 on Wednesday, reaching $20.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,828,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,828,816. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $9.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.62. Conagra Brands has a 52-week low of $20.23 and a 52-week high of $33.24.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.86%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 205.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $49,776,000 after purchasing an additional 914,820 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 269.0% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 207,417 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,532,000 after purchasing an additional 151,209 shares during the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter valued at about $558,000. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 63,249 shares of the company's stock worth $1,755,000 after acquiring an additional 9,838 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 560.1% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,042,766 shares of the company's stock worth $54,480,000 after buying an additional 1,733,297 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on CAG. Barclays cut their target price on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Conagra Brands from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $22.00 price target on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $24.73.

About Conagra Brands

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.