Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Conagra Brands $CAG

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) by 126.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,189 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,412 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $1,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CAG. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Conagra Brands by 4.2% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 23,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 954 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the first quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 5.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 36,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $970,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 40,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 11,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 3.9% during the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 50,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Conagra Brands Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Conagra Brands stock opened at $14.00 on Wednesday. Conagra Brands has a fifty-two week low of $13.60 and a fifty-two week high of $23.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $15.57 and a 200 day moving average of $17.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.70 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -139.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. Conagra Brands had a positive return on equity of 10.15% and a negative net margin of 0.39%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Conagra Brands will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.0%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1,400.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Evercore reduced their target price on Conagra Brands from $19.00 to $18.00 in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Conagra Brands in a report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Conagra Brands from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Conagra Brands presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $15.80.

Conagra Brands 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.