Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $34.00 to $33.00. The stock had previously closed at $28.81, but opened at $28.01. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Conagra Brands shares last traded at $27.69, with a volume of 2,384,300 shares changing hands.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on CAG. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup cut their price target on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Charisse Brock sold 15,444 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.37, for a total transaction of $469,034.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 113,254 shares in the company, valued at $3,439,523.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAG. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 188.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 153,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,395,000 after buying an additional 100,141 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Conagra Brands by 316.6% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 154,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,414,000 after acquiring an additional 117,042 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its position in Conagra Brands by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 517,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,840,000 after buying an additional 37,149 shares during the period. Adams Asset Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,690,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Conagra Brands by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 815,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,385,000 after acquiring an additional 88,576 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Trading Down 0.1 %

The company has a market cap of $13.56 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a 50-day moving average of $29.46 and a 200 day moving average of $29.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 7.86% and a return on equity of 14.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. Analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is 70.35%.

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.