Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Conagra Brands Put Options (NYSE:CAG)

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 13,957 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 35% compared to the typical daily volume of 10,312 put options.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

NYSE CAG opened at $17.00 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $18.23 and a 200-day moving average of $18.12. Conagra Brands has a fifty-two week low of $15.96 and a fifty-two week high of $27.68. The stock has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -77.25 and a beta of -0.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. Conagra Brands had a negative net margin of 0.87% and a positive return on equity of 10.59%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. Conagra Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.700-1.85 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 27th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 27th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -636.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CAG shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Conagra Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Conagra Brands from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $19.07.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CAG. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 80.4% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 844.4% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,427 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 249.0% in the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Company Profile

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.