Wells Fargo & Company Raises Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Price Target to $31.00

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) had its price objective lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $30.00 to $31.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Conagra Brands in a report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Conagra Brands currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.63.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of CAG opened at $30.31 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $14.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.52, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.32. Conagra Brands has a fifty-two week low of $26.62 and a fifty-two week high of $33.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $31.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.29.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 2nd. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.84 billion. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 13.71% and a net margin of 4.14%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Conagra Brands will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.62%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 191.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.29, for a total transaction of $1,211,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 161,443 shares in the company, valued at $4,890,108.47. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Conagra Brands

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Conagra Brands by 237.9% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 76,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,281,000 after buying an additional 54,195 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 261.3% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 147,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,360,000 after purchasing an additional 106,368 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in Conagra Brands during the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,429,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 573.4% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 38,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after buying an additional 32,396 shares during the period. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,398,000. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.