Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 62.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,060 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,102 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 159,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,570,000 after purchasing an additional 4,839 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Conagra Brands by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 7,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 2,149 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $234,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in Conagra Brands by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 18,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 5,578 shares during the period. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $214,000. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CAG shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.14.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAG opened at $30.83 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $29.65 and its 200 day moving average is $28.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.16 and a 52 week high of $37.98. The stock has a market cap of $14.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.38.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 4th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 14.25% and a net margin of 7.86%. Conagra Brands’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.54%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.35%.

About Conagra Brands

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.