Short Interest in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) Increases By 11.8%

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 17,030,000 shares, a growth of 11.8% from the August 31st total of 15,230,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,790,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days. Currently, 3.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Conagra Brands Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of CAG traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $32.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,986,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,698,707. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Conagra Brands has a 1 year low of $25.16 and a 1 year high of $33.24. The business has a fifty day moving average of $31.28 and a 200 day moving average of $30.27. The company has a market cap of $15.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.32.

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

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.28%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 191.78%.

Insider Activity at Conagra Brands

In related news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.29, for a total transaction of $1,211,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 161,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,890,108.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Conagra Brands

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAG. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 237.9% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 76,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,281,000 after purchasing an additional 54,195 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 815,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,385,000 after buying an additional 88,576 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its stake in Conagra Brands by 663.1% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 436,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,516,000 after purchasing an additional 379,473 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Conagra Brands by 261.3% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 147,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,360,000 after buying an additional 106,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new position in Conagra Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $7,429,000. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAG has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays reduced 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. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.10.

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.