Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 11.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,495 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,173 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $1,902,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 10.8% during the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 12,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 547.8% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 1,775 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 3.1% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 674,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,934,000 after purchasing an additional 20,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 6.5% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 397,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,920,000 after purchasing an additional 24,103 shares in the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of CAG opened at $27.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.34. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.21 and a twelve month high of $33.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50 day moving average of $29.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.83.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 2nd. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.07). Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.14% and a return on equity of 13.71%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. Conagra Brands’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.10%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is currently 135.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Conagra Brands to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.63.

Conagra Brands Company Profile

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.