Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,180,000 shares, a decrease of 33.3% from the March 15th total of 19,760,000 shares. Approximately 2.8% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 6,320,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on CAG. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Conagra Brands from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $33.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Conagra Brands in a report on Monday, March 24th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.90.

Conagra Brands Stock Down 1.0 %

CAG traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,534,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,125,334. Conagra Brands has a 1 year low of $23.06 and a 1 year high of $33.24. The stock's 50-day moving average is $25.79 and its 200-day moving average is $26.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.72, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 3rd. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 13.76%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.55%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 205.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 399,454 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,085,000 after purchasing an additional 62,187 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 78,414 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,175,000 after purchasing an additional 22,790 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 12,285,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $341,048,000 after buying an additional 618,096 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Conagra Brands by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 135,352 shares of the company's stock worth $3,756,000 after buying an additional 15,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter worth about $558,000. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company's stock.

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.