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

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors purchased 99,242 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 905% compared to the typical daily volume of 9,873 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on CAG. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Conagra Brands from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Conagra Brands from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Conagra Brands from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $18.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Melissa C. Napier sold 13,011 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.19, for a total value of $223,659.09. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAG. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 54,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 822,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,236,000 after purchasing an additional 102,346 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Conagra Brands by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 87,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after buying an additional 14,466 shares in the last quarter. Fruth Investment Management purchased a new position in Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $830,000. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter valued at about $373,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Stock Up 3.4%

NYSE CAG traded up $0.59 on Monday, reaching $18.09. The company had a trading volume of 17,197,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,418,145. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company’s fifty day moving average is $17.29 and its 200 day moving average is $18.18. Conagra Brands has a 52-week low of $15.96 and a 52-week high of $28.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -82.23 and a beta of -0.01.

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

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

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

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.