Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Buys 4,697 Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,818 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,697 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Conagra Brands during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Conagra Brands in the first quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Security National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 40,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 161,443 shares in the company, valued at $4,890,108.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

Shares of CAG stock opened at $32.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $15.45 billion, a PE ratio of 44.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.32. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.16 and a 52-week high of $33.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.09. 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 (NYSE:CAG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.04. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 14.31%. The business had revenue of $2.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CAG shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on 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. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Citigroup lowered their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.10.

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.