Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) Short Interest Update

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,230,000 shares, a growth of 5.5% from the August 15th total of 14,430,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,650,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Citigroup decreased 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 report on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.10.

Conagra Brands Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE CAG traded down $0.32 on Thursday, hitting $32.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 680,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,629,385. The firm has a market cap of $15.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.84, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.32. Conagra Brands has a 52-week low of $25.16 and a 52-week high of $33.24. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.04. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 14.31%. The business had revenue of $2.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Conagra Brands will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 191.78%.

Insider Transactions at Conagra Brands

In related news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.29, for a total value of $1,211,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 161,443 shares in the company, valued at $4,890,108.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAG. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 20.5% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 11,013,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,004,000 after purchasing an additional 1,871,238 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter worth about $140,473,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,313,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,602,000 after buying an additional 633,794 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 148.2% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 2,535,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,048,000 after acquiring an additional 1,513,726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Conagra Brands by 1,362.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,406,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,400,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,186 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

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.