TD Cowen Begins Coverage on Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG)

TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a market perform rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Conagra Brands from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 21st. Barclays reduced their target price on Conagra Brands from $42.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, July 14th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Conagra Brands from $40.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Conagra Brands from $43.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, July 14th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Conagra Brands from a b rating to a c+ rating in a report on Thursday, July 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $37.62.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAG opened at $28.94 on Wednesday. Conagra Brands has a one year low of $28.35 and a one year high of $41.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.08 and a 200-day moving average of $34.27. The company has a market capitalization of $13.81 billion, a PE ratio of 20.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 13th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 15.19% and a net margin of 5.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.84%. This is an increase from Conagra Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 28th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 75,522 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.07, for a total value of $2,497,512.54. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 157,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,196,123.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Conagra Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAG. Institutional & Family Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Delta Asset Management LLC TN bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Core Alternative Capital bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Tradition Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 641.6% in the first quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the period. 84.27% 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.