Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 5,169,702 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 3% from the previous session’s volume of 4,998,225 shares.The stock last traded at $25.88 and had previously closed at $25.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays lowered their target price on Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Conagra Brands to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.56.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $12.33 billion, a PE ratio of 25.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $27.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.25.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.15 billion. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 4.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 27th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 137.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Conagra Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 21,015.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,654,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $346,495,000 after acquiring an additional 10,604,367 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Conagra Brands by 106.4% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 6,077,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $197,624,000 after purchasing an additional 3,133,200 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Conagra Brands by 1,362.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,406,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,400,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,186 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the 3rd quarter worth $65,932,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,484,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $796,229,000 after acquiring an additional 1,691,945 shares during the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.