Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Shares Gap Down to $32.72

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $32.72, but opened at $30.09. Conagra Brands shares last traded at $30.16, with a volume of 1,006,000 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. 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 report on Tuesday, September 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.10.

Conagra Brands Trading Down 9.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.29, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.32.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.61 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.75%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 191.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Conagra Brands news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.29, for a total transaction of $1,211,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 161,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,890,108.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 1,362.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,406,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,400,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,186 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 20.5% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 11,013,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,004,000 after acquiring an additional 1,871,238 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new stake in Conagra Brands during the 1st quarter valued at about $47,980,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in Conagra Brands by 148.2% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 2,535,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,048,000 after purchasing an additional 1,513,726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,069,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

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.