Westchester Capital Management Inc. Cuts Position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Westchester Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,409 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the quarter. Conagra Brands comprises about 0.4% of Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $1,649,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Conagra Brands by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 1,599 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Conagra Brands by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 4,164 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Conagra Brands by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 1,431 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. purchased a new position in Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter worth $584,000. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter worth $2,646,000. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

NYSE:CAG opened at $26.71 on Wednesday. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.06 and a 12 month high of $33.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $25.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $12.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.18.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 4.13%. The business’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Monday, January 27th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.24%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is 137.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CAG. Citigroup dropped their target price on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America lowered 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 Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.33.

Conagra Brands 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.