BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Lowers Stock Holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lowered its stake in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 254,942 shares of the company’s stock after selling 49,808 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned 0.05% of Conagra Brands worth $8,291,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. King Luther Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Conagra Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $299,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in Conagra Brands during the third quarter valued at approximately $967,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 45.1% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 143,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,652,000 after purchasing an additional 44,477 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank grew its position in Conagra Brands by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 44,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,444,000 after purchasing an additional 1,718 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,112,000. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on CAG. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Conagra Brands to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Conagra Brands in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Conagra Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.63.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

NYSE CAG opened at $27.42 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.33. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.21 and a 1-year high of $33.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.09 billion, a PE ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 135.92%.

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.