Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Hits New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $26.00 to $25.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Conagra Brands traded as low as $22.98 and last traded at $22.98, with a volume of 964929 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.35.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on CAG. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Conagra Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $33.00 to $26.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.80.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAG. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 399,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,085,000 after acquiring an additional 62,187 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 78,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,175,000 after purchasing an additional 22,790 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 135,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,756,000 after purchasing an additional 15,834 shares in the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $558,000. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 123,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,430,000 after purchasing an additional 10,100 shares in the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Trading Up 0.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $11.07 billion, a PE ratio of 22.73, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.42.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.01). Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 13.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.04%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is currently 205.88%.

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.