Everence Capital Management Inc. Buys 2,280 Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,350 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,280 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAG. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Conagra Brands by 82.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the third quarter valued at $47,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in Conagra Brands in the third quarter worth $59,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in Conagra Brands by 229.7% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Conagra Brands by 27,057.1% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,894 shares during the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays cut their target price on Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Conagra Brands to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Conagra Brands has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.56.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

Shares of Conagra Brands stock opened at $27.65 on Monday. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.21 and a 52 week high of $33.24. The company has a market capitalization of $13.20 billion, a PE ratio of 26.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $27.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.14% and a return on equity of 13.71%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 137.25%.

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.