Savant Capital LLC Boosts Stake in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 28.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,337 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,831 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CAG. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 21,015.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,654,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $346,495,000 after buying an additional 10,604,367 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 106.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 6,077,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $197,624,000 after buying an additional 3,133,200 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $65,932,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,484,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $796,229,000 after buying an additional 1,691,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,990,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAG opened at $23.92 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $26.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.62. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.06 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 firm has a market capitalization of $11.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.28.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. Conagra Brands’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 27th. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is currently 137.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAG. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.00.

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.