First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Raises Holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 8.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,395 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,843 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $793,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Conagra Brands in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 82.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 144.4% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 836 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of CAG stock opened at $28.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $13.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.13, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.32. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.62 and a 52 week high of $33.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.23.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 2nd. The company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.84 billion. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 13.71% and a net margin of 4.14%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. Analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 135.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CAG. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Six investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.63.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,890,108.47. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.51% 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.