Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) Shares Sold by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC reduced its position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 76.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,004 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,502 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Conagra Brands during the 1st quarter worth approximately $433,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 38.9% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 13,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 3,776 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Conagra Brands by 83.2% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 34,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 15,509 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in Conagra Brands by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 216,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,432,000 after purchasing an additional 8,862 shares during the period. Finally, LBP AM SA raised its position in Conagra Brands by 60.0% in the 1st quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 12,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Conagra Brands to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.63.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAG opened at $27.46 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.33. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.21 and a 12 month high of $33.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $29.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.88.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 2nd. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.84 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.14% and a return on equity of 13.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is currently 135.92%.

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.