Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $29.06, but opened at $31.08. Conagra Brands shares last traded at $30.55, with a volume of 2,015,841 shares traded.

The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 14.78% and a net margin of 8.09%. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CAG. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut shares of Conagra Brands from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $32.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.93.

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. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 1.1% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 29,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $958,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 0.5% during the first quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 81,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,722,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 2.9% during the first quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 13,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 1.4% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 28,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $28.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.35. The firm has a market cap of $14.86 billion, a PE ratio of 15.09, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.42.

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.