Metis Global Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 84.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 28,279 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,977 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $785,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 65.4% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 36.2% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 1,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAG has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Conagra Brands in a research 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 research report on Friday, January 3rd. 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Conagra Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $26.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.67.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

NYSE:CAG opened at $25.45 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.06 and a 52 week high of $33.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $25.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.15 billion, a PE ratio of 24.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.28.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 13.76%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 27th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 27th. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is 137.25%.

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.