StockNews.com Upgrades Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) to “Buy”

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG – Get Rating) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Credit Suisse Group boosted their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $40.00 to $42.00 in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $35.00 to $38.00 in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Conagra Brands Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:CAG opened at $36.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Conagra Brands has a 1 year low of $31.01 and a 1 year high of $41.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $37.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.56.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 5th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 6.59% and a return on equity of 15.34%. The company’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Conagra Brands news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.66, for a total transaction of $1,739,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 104,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,053,848.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Charisse Brock sold 7,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.04, for a total value of $260,613.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,511,466.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.66, for a total transaction of $1,739,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 104,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,053,848.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CAG. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 6.6% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 64,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,155,000 after acquiring an additional 3,975 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its position in Conagra Brands by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 309,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,942,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in Conagra Brands by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 22,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 19.8% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 27,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 4,487 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 509.0% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 366,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,294,000 after buying an additional 306,086 shares during the period. 81.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Company Profile

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Conagra Brands, Inc engages in the manufacture and sale of processed and packaged foods. It operates through the following segments: Grocery and Snacks, Refrigerated and Frozen, International, and Foodservice. The Grocery and Snacks segment includes branded, shelf stable food products sold in various retail channels in the United States.