Short Interest in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) Rises By 7.2%

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,970,000 shares, an increase of 7.2% from the May 31st total of 13,960,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,450,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays raised their price target on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.00.

Insider Transactions at Conagra Brands

In related news, EVP Charisse Brock sold 15,444 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.37, for a total value of $469,034.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 113,254 shares in the company, valued at $3,439,523.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Conagra Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 79.0% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 4,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 1,977 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 74.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 10,102 shares during the period. Red Spruce Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 9.0% during the second quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 47,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 3,960 shares in the last quarter. Old Port Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 7.1% in the first quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 87,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,599,000 after purchasing an additional 5,778 shares during the period. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 11,463.0% in the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 3,095 shares in the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Trading Up 0.1 %

Conagra Brands stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.33. 3,658,493 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,703,361. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $13.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.23, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.32. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.24. Conagra Brands has a fifty-two week low of $25.16 and a fifty-two week high of $34.38.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 4th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 14.25% and a net margin of 7.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.35%.

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.