Argent Trust Co Takes Position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Argent Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 7,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAG. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 237.9% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 76,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,281,000 after buying an additional 54,195 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Conagra Brands by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 815,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,385,000 after acquiring an additional 88,576 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 663.1% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 436,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,516,000 after acquiring an additional 379,473 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 261.3% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 147,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,360,000 after purchasing an additional 106,368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,429,000. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Conagra Brands

In related news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 161,443 shares in the company, valued at $4,890,108.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on CAG. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America upped their target price on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.10.

Conagra Brands Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE CAG opened at $32.30 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.44 billion, a PE ratio of 44.25, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.32. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $25.16 and a one year high of $33.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $30.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.99.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 14.31%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is currently 191.78%.

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.