Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Receives Sector Perform Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada restated their sector perform rating on shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $29.00 price objective on the stock.

CAG has been the topic of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a buy rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $31.00.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

CAG stock opened at $29.35 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Conagra Brands has a 12 month low of $25.16 and a 12 month high of $33.24. The firm has a market cap of $14.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.32. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $31.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.26.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 2nd. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.84 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 14.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is currently 191.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.29, for a total value of $1,211,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 161,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,890,108.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAG. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 7.1% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 97,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,174,000 after acquiring an additional 6,488 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the second quarter valued at approximately $829,000. SPC Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 18.9% in the second quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 10,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands in the second quarter worth $1,482,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 10.2% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

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.