Benjamin Edwards Inc. Buys New Stake in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake 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. The fund bought 3,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,000.

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

Conagra Brands Price Performance

NYSE CAG opened at $32.30 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.16 and a 12-month high of $33.24.

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

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Conagra Brands news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.29, for a total value of $1,211,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 161,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,890,108.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAG has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.10.

Conagra Brands 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.