Essex Financial Services Inc. Buys 26,424 Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 307.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,015 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 26,424 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $972,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 22.5% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 30,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after acquiring an additional 5,669 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in Conagra Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,829,000. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 165,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,368,000 after purchasing an additional 9,490 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 674,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,934,000 after buying an additional 20,384 shares during the period. Finally, B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 5.9% during the third quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 47,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,551,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.33.

Conagra Brands Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE CAG opened at $24.90 on Wednesday. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $24.18 and a one year high of $33.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $26.60 and its 200-day moving average is $28.82.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 13.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Monday, January 27th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is presently 137.26%.

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.