Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Sets New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $13.57 and last traded at $13.6050, with a volume of 3426082 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.67.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CAG. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Conagra Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $19.00 to $16.00 in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Conagra Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Conagra Brands has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $15.80.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion and a PE ratio of -135.44. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. Conagra Brands had a positive return on equity of 10.15% and a negative net margin of 0.39%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Conagra Brands will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.3%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is currently -1,400.00%.

Insider Transactions at Conagra Brands

In related news, Director Richard H. Lenny purchased 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.34 per share, with a total value of $358,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 229,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,288,735.60. This trade represents a 12.23% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John J. Mulligan purchased 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $14.31 per share, with a total value of $250,425.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 20,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $296,617.68. The trade was a 542.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Conagra Brands

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the second quarter worth about $26,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in Conagra Brands by 80.4% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 156.9% in the 1st quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 249.0% during the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares during the period. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Conagra Brands

Conagra Brands, Inc is a leading packaged foods company based in Chicago, Illinois, with a broad portfolio of shelf-stable, frozen and refrigerated foods marketed under familiar brands. The company develops, produces and distributes a wide range of consumer food products, serving both retail grocery and foodservice channels. Conagra’s product lineup includes frozen entrees, snacks, condiments, baking goods and desserts, providing convenient meal solutions for consumers across North America and select international markets.

Among its well-known brands are Birds Eye, Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Marie Callender’s and Banquet in the frozen foods category, as well as Hunt’s sauces, Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn, Slim Jim meat snacks and Reddi-wip toppings.