Brindle & Bay Financial Advisors LLC Takes Position in Conagra Brands $CAG

Brindle & Bay Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 42,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $732,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CAG. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 239.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 8,347,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,837,000 after buying an additional 5,889,542 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 245.5% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 7,734,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,611,000 after buying an additional 5,495,503 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 216.2% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,459,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,318,000 after buying an additional 5,100,424 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 241.9% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 5,915,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,313,000 after buying an additional 4,185,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 69.5% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,145,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,685,000 after buying an additional 4,160,542 shares in the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAG. Wall Street Zen raised Conagra Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Conagra Brands from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Conagra Brands from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $15.80.

Insider Activity

In other Conagra Brands news, Director John J. Mulligan acquired 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $14.31 per share, with a total value of $250,425.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,728 shares in the company, valued at $296,617.68. The trade was a 542.13% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard H. Lenny acquired 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.34 per share, with a total value of $358,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 229,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,288,735.60. This represents a 12.23% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:CAG opened at $14.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.78 billion, a PE ratio of -141.64 and a beta of 0.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $16.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.32. Conagra Brands has a 12-month low of $14.04 and a 12-month high of $25.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. Conagra Brands had a negative net margin of 0.39% and a positive return on equity of 10.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1,400.00%.

About Conagra Brands

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.