Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $14.0667.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CAG shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Conagra Brands from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $12.00 price target (down from $16.00) on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Conagra Brands from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Conagra Brands from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Conagra Brands from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 156.9% during the first quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,029 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in Conagra Brands during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Conagra Brands by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Conagra Brands by 339.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 2,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,756 shares during the period. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:CAG opened at $15.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.91 and a beta of -0.01. Conagra Brands has a fifty-two week low of $12.53 and a fifty-two week high of $20.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $14.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.11.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. Conagra Brands had a negative net margin of 16.99% and a positive return on equity of 10.44%. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. Conagra Brands has set its FY 2027 guidance at 1.400-1.500 EPS. Analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 1.45 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 30th were paid a $0.175 dividend. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 30th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently -17.50%.

Conagra Brands Company Profile

Conagra Brands, Inc is a leading packaged foods company based in Chicago, Illinois, with a broad portfolio of shelf-stable, frozen and refrigerated foods marketed under familiar brands. The company develops, produces and distributes a wide range of consumer food products, serving both retail grocery and foodservice channels. Conagra’s product lineup includes frozen entrees, snacks, condiments, baking goods and desserts, providing convenient meal solutions for consumers across North America and select international markets.

Among its well-known brands are Birds Eye, Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Marie Callender’s and Banquet in the frozen foods category, as well as Hunt’s sauces, Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn, Slim Jim meat snacks and Reddi-wip toppings.