Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) has received an average rating of “Reduce” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $14.0667.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Conagra Brands from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Conagra Brands from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research lowered Conagra Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Conagra Brands from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Conagra Brands

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAG. Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 655.5% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 1,356,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,256,000 after purchasing an additional 1,176,752 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 20.3% during the second quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 134,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,806,000 after purchasing an additional 22,603 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the second quarter worth $427,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 1,239.1% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,462,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,444,000 after buying an additional 6,905,142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital bought a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the 2nd quarter worth about $170,000. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Stock Down 1.2%

CAG stock opened at $16.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.24. The company has a market capitalization of $7.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.00 and a beta of -0.03. Conagra Brands has a twelve month low of $12.53 and a twelve month high of $20.32.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. Conagra Brands had a negative net margin of 16.99% and a positive return on equity of 10.44%. The firm had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Conagra Brands has set its FY 2027 guidance at 1.400-1.500 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Conagra Brands will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be issued a $0.175 dividend. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 30th. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is -17.50%.

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.