Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Price Target Lowered to $15.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) had its price objective reduced by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $17.00 to $15.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 1.15% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on CAG. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Conagra Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $15.93.

Conagra Brands Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE CAG opened at $14.83 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $16.96 and its 200-day moving average is $17.43. The stock has a market cap of $7.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -148.29 and a beta of 0.04. Conagra Brands has a twelve month low of $14.04 and a twelve month high of $25.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. Conagra Brands had a positive return on equity of 10.15% and a negative net margin of 0.39%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Conagra Brands will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Conagra Brands

In other Conagra Brands news, Director Richard H. Lenny purchased 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.34 per share, for a total transaction of $358,500.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 229,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,288,735.60. This represents a 12.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John J. Mulligan purchased 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $14.31 per share, for a total transaction of $250,425.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 20,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $296,617.68. The trade was a 542.13% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Conagra Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $145,656,000. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 239.6% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 8,347,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,837,000 after acquiring an additional 5,889,542 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 245.5% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 7,734,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,611,000 after acquiring an additional 5,495,503 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 216.2% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,459,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,318,000 after acquiring an additional 5,100,424 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 241.9% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 5,915,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,313,000 after acquiring an additional 4,185,486 shares during the period. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Conagra Brands

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.