Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) Short Interest Up 7.2% in June

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,970,000 shares, a growth of 7.2% from the May 31st total of 13,960,000 shares. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 4,450,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Conagra Brands Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of CAG stock opened at $28.13 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $13.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Conagra Brands has a fifty-two week low of $25.16 and a fifty-two week high of $33.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.23.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 4th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 7.86% and a return on equity of 14.25%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Conagra Brands will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.98%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Conagra Brands news, EVP Charisse Brock sold 15,444 shares of Conagra Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.37, for a total value of $469,034.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 113,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,439,523.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Conagra Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CAG. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 144.4% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Barclays increased their target price on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.00.

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.