Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Trading Up 2.7% – Should You Buy?

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)’s stock price was up 2.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $27.35 and last traded at $27.50. Approximately 1,826,352 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 5,093,265 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.78.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAG. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Conagra Brands in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Nine equities 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.20.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $25.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.44. The company has a market cap of $12.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.18.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 4.13%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.24%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 137.25%.

Institutional Trading of Conagra Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Conagra Brands by 65.4% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

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.