Bell Bank Increases Stock Holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Bell Bank boosted its stake in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 76.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 282,825 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 122,120 shares during the quarter. Bell Bank owned about 0.06% of Conagra Brands worth $7,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted 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 buying an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the third quarter valued at about $47,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Conagra Brands in the third quarter valued at about $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of CAG opened at $25.82 on Friday. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.06 and a 12 month high of $33.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.54. The company has a market cap of $12.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.28.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 13.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Monday, January 27th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 137.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America decreased their price target on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.78.

Conagra Brands Company 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.