Conagra Brands Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:CAG)

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 99,242 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 905% compared to the average volume of 9,873 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Melissa C. Napier sold 13,011 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.19, for a total transaction of $223,659.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Conagra Brands

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAG. Edmp Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 1.1% during the second quarter. Edmp Inc. now owns 48,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $996,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 1.5% during the second quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 36,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $740,000 after buying an additional 546 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its stake in Conagra Brands by 20.3% in the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 3,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 172,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,483,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sutton Place Investors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 1.9% in the third quarter. Sutton Place Investors LLC now owns 31,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

Shares of Conagra Brands stock traded up $0.59 during trading on Monday, hitting $18.09. 17,197,309 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,418,145. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.89. Conagra Brands has a 12 month low of $15.96 and a 12 month high of $28.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $17.29 and its 200 day moving average is $18.18. The stock has a market cap of $8.65 billion, a PE ratio of -82.23 and a beta of -0.01.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.01. Conagra Brands had a negative net margin of 0.87% and a positive return on equity of 10.59%. The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. Conagra Brands’s revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Conagra Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.700-1.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 27th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.7%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently -636.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CAG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Zacks Research cut Conagra Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Conagra Brands from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $18.71.

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.