Xponance Inc. Boosts Stake in Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG)

Xponance Inc. raised its position in Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 67,039 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $1,788,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter worth about $2,035,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter worth about $16,588,000. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in Conagra Brands by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 8,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Conagra Brands by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Conagra Brands by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599 shares in the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Barclays decreased their price target on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Conagra Brands from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $21.00 target price on Conagra Brands and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Conagra Brands has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.58.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

CAG opened at $19.36 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $21.96 and its 200-day moving average is $24.43. The stock has a market cap of $9.24 billion, a PE ratio of 8.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Conagra Brands has a twelve month low of $18.82 and a twelve month high of $33.24.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $2,781,800 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.23%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.58%.

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.