New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 5,451 Shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 218,206 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,451 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $5,820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAG. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in Conagra Brands during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 82.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 235.2% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 741 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 86.1% in the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Conagra Brands stock opened at $19.06 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.10 billion, a PE ratio of 7.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.11. Conagra Brands has a 52-week low of $18.80 and a 52-week high of $33.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.71.

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

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.35%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is 58.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on CAG. Barclays reduced their target price on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Conagra Brands from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.58.

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.