Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 597,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,588,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Conagra Brands at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAG. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Conagra Brands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $196,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its position in Conagra Brands by 14.7% in the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 85,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,783,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 573,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,660,000 after purchasing an additional 3,597 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 2,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 12,285,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,048,000 after buying an additional 618,096 shares during the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

CAG opened at $25.31 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a PE ratio of 24.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.27. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.06 and a 1 year high of $33.24.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 13.76%. The business’s revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.53%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 205.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on CAG shares. Barclays increased their price target on Conagra Brands from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Conagra Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.90.

Conagra Brands 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.