Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.33.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CAG shares. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays cut their target price on Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

CAG opened at $25.48 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Conagra Brands has a 12-month low of $25.06 and a 12-month high of $33.24.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 4.13%. The company’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Conagra Brands will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.50%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is 137.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Conagra Brands

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Courier Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 1.3% during the third quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 27,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $880,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 0.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 87,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,836,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 2.3% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 16,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 0.7% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 52,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,716,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 1.5% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 25,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $820,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

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.