Sasco Capital Inc. CT Sells 117,350 Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Sasco Capital Inc. CT reduced its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 15.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 659,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 117,350 shares during the quarter. Conagra Brands makes up about 3.2% of Sasco Capital Inc. CT’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Sasco Capital Inc. CT’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $21,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAG. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 237.9% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 76,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,281,000 after acquiring an additional 54,195 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in Conagra Brands during the third quarter valued at $1,020,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its position in Conagra Brands by 573.4% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 38,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,128,000 after buying an additional 32,396 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the third quarter valued at $3,829,000. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the 1st quarter valued at $18,268,000. 83.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas raised Conagra Brands to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.63.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

NYSE CAG opened at $26.61 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.94. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.21 and a 52-week high of $33.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $30.07 and a 200-day moving average of $30.00.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 2nd. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.07). The firm 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%. Conagra Brands’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 company posted $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.26%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is 135.92%.

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.