Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Boosts Position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 215,093 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,001 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $5,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 84.8% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 28,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $785,000 after purchasing an additional 12,977 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 212,694 shares of the company's stock worth $5,902,000 after buying an additional 896 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC now owns 30,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 4,400 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter worth about $377,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter worth about $2,035,000. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Bank of America cut their price target on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.67.

Conagra Brands Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of CAG stock traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $25.94. 2,285,784 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,680,375. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.06 and a fifty-two week high of $33.24. The stock's 50 day moving average is $25.98 and its 200-day moving average is $28.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $12.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.28.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 4.13%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 27th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.40%. Conagra Brands's payout ratio is 137.25%.

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.