Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) Short Interest Update

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,950,000 shares, an increase of 9.9% from the December 15th total of 14,510,000 shares. Currently, 3.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 4,850,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Conagra Brands Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE CAG traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $25.83. 9,680,558 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,525,496. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Conagra Brands has a 12 month low of $25.35 and a 12 month high of $33.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.25. The company has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.29.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.15 billion. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 4.13%. The company’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 2.46 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Conagra Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAG. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 21,015.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,654,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $346,495,000 after acquiring an additional 10,604,367 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 106.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 6,077,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $197,624,000 after purchasing an additional 3,133,200 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Conagra Brands by 1,362.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,406,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,400,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,186 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the third quarter valued at $65,932,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,484,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $796,229,000 after buying an additional 1,691,945 shares during the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CAG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BNP Paribas raised Conagra Brands to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America lowered their price target on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given 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 $30.56.

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.