Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Given New $15.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) had its target price cut by Morgan Stanley from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

CAG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group cut their price target on Conagra Brands from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Conagra Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $19.00 to $16.00 in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $15.80.

Conagra Brands Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Conagra Brands stock opened at $14.40 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $16.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.36. Conagra Brands has a 12-month low of $14.04 and a 12-month high of $25.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $6.89 billion, a PE ratio of -144.03 and a beta of 0.04.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%.Conagra Brands’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is -1,400.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Conagra Brands

In related news, Director John J. Mulligan acquired 17,500 shares of Conagra Brands stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.31 per share, for a total transaction of $250,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard H. Lenny acquired 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $14.34 per share, with a total value of $358,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 229,340 shares in the company, valued at $3,288,735.60. This represents a 12.23% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Conagra Brands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bell Investment Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 156.9% during the first quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,029 shares during the period. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in Conagra Brands in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Conagra Brands by 80.4% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Conagra Brands by 844.4% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Company Profile

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.