Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 6,485 Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 65.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,381 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,485 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 5.9% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 109,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,924,000 after acquiring an additional 6,150 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 967,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,808,000 after buying an additional 121,882 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 2,180.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 422,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,277,000 after buying an additional 404,310 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 86.1% during the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Capital Advisors llc acquired a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the 1st quarter worth about $267,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAG opened at $22.40 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.14. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.98 and a 52-week high of $33.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.70. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $23.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.50.

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

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.25%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is presently 205.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CAG. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Conagra Brands from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.60.

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.