Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Acquires 16,001 Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC raised its holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 215,093 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,001 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $5,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the third quarter worth about $3,449,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in Conagra Brands by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 55,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after buying an additional 3,775 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the 3rd quarter worth about $209,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 8.2% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 24,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $793,000 after acquiring an additional 1,843 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 15.7% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 28,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $933,000 after acquiring an additional 3,884 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of CAG stock opened at $25.54 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $25.98 and its 200 day moving average is $28.37. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.06 and a 1-year high of $33.24. 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 company has a market cap of $12.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.04, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.28.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.15 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 13.76%. The company’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. Research analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 27th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 27th. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is presently 137.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CAG. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Conagra Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $33.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Conagra Brands currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.67.

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.