Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong Sell”

Zacks Research lowered shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on CAG. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Conagra Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $15.80.

Conagra Brands Trading Up 0.5%

CAG stock opened at $14.00 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $15.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.00. Conagra Brands has a fifty-two week low of $13.60 and a fifty-two week high of $23.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $6.70 billion and a PE ratio of -139.94.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.01). Conagra Brands had a negative net margin of 0.39% and a positive return on equity of 10.15%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is presently -1,400.00%.

Insider Transactions at Conagra Brands

In other news, Director John J. Mulligan bought 17,500 shares of Conagra Brands stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $14.31 per share, for a total transaction of $250,425.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 20,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $296,617.68. This trade represents a 542.13% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard H. Lenny bought 25,000 shares of Conagra Brands stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.34 per share, with a total value of $358,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 229,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,288,735.60. This represents a 12.23% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Conagra Brands

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the second quarter worth about $26,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the second quarter worth about $29,000. 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. Bell Investment Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Conagra Brands by 156.9% in the first quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in Conagra Brands by 249.0% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.