Conagra Brands’ (CAG) Sector Perform Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their sector perform rating on shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $29.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Conagra Brands to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.88.

Conagra Brands Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CAG opened at $27.11 on Friday. Conagra Brands has a 12-month low of $26.21 and a 12-month high of $33.24. The company has a market cap of $12.94 billion, a PE ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $28.21 and a 200 day moving average of $29.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.33 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.14% and a return on equity of 13.71%. The company’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 2.58 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Monday, January 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is 135.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Conagra Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 110.8% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 36,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 19,329 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Conagra Brands in the third quarter worth $1,020,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 21,015.0% during the third 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 during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in Conagra Brands during the third quarter valued at $967,000. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 3.1% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 674,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,934,000 after acquiring an additional 20,384 shares during the period. 83.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Conagra Brands

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.