Conagra Brands, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.35 (NYSE:CAG)

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 11th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of 0.35 per share on Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th.

Conagra Brands has increased its dividend payment by an average of 14.2% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 4 years. Conagra Brands has a dividend payout ratio of 49.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Conagra Brands to earn $2.69 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 52.0%.

Conagra Brands Stock Down 2.3 %

Conagra Brands stock opened at $29.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $28.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.41. Conagra Brands has a 52 week low of $25.16 and a 52 week high of $38.73.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 4th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 7.86% and a return on equity of 14.25%. Conagra Brands’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 2.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CAG. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.14.

Institutional Trading of Conagra Brands

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAG. Clear Street Markets LLC raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 93.2% in the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new position in Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Conagra Brands during the second quarter worth $35,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new position in Conagra Brands during the second quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its position in Conagra Brands by 136.4% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 2,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502 shares during the period. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.