Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Cuts Stock Holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 98.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,380 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,266,371 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $649,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAG. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in Conagra Brands by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 399,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,085,000 after acquiring an additional 62,187 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 110.8% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 36,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 19,329 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 12,285,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,048,000 after buying an additional 618,096 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Conagra Brands in the third quarter valued at about $1,020,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Conagra Brands by 21,015.0% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,654,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $346,495,000 after buying an additional 10,604,367 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAG opened at $25.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.29 billion, a PE ratio of 25.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.29. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.06 and a 12 month high of $33.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The business has a 50-day moving average of $27.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.15.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 13.76%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. Conagra Brands’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 137.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAG. Barclays lowered their price target on Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Seven 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.33.

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.