Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) Shares Acquired by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 18.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 515,659 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 78,961 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $15,284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAG. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its position in Conagra Brands by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 16,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 313.4% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,263 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Conagra Brands by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 21,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $630,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the period. Finally, Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 32.8% in the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 11,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 2,735 shares during the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

Shares of Conagra Brands stock opened at $30.16 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.16 and a 52 week high of $33.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $29.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.32.

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

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 1st. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 191.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CAG shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Citigroup cut their target price on 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 lowered their price target on 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 dropped their price objective on Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Charisse Brock sold 15,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.37, for a total transaction of $469,034.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 113,254 shares in the company, valued at $3,439,523.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.